The Mermaid and the Pirate
by TheLadyMorgana
Summary: Aurelia (AKA Ariel) is discovered in storybrooke. We follow her story as she interacts with the characters back in the magical world and in storybrooke, and the story of how she was turned into a mermaid. She is torn between finding her true love and protecting herself, especially when it comes to a certain pirate. Contains fighting, love triangles, OCs etc. R R PLEASE.
1. Aurelia

Emma and Henry walked along the docks, coffee in their hands. They walked in an uncomfortable silence, Emma stuttering about trying to think up words to say about how she was sorry he'd lost his father again. Instead, she placed an arm round him, and they walked to the waters edge, looking down. Charming and Snow walked along in the distance holding hands, Gold and 'Lacey' strolling along, and Red chalking on the days special outside Granny's. Suddenly, something shining caught Emma's eye. She squinted in the distance, and suddenly, the sun burst out, blinding almost everyone. The skies turned a bright blue colour, and the waters seemed to turn brighter. The shining thing on the water sparkled and Emma saw it closer. It seemed to be some sort of pendant. And I was attached to a body. She yelled, and the people came running over- granted, Rumplestiskin and Lacey strolled more than ran, but everyone gathered at the edge to see the floating body of a young woman, with streaming red hair. She looked pale, her lips slightly blue, but gave a sharp gasp and coughed, spluttering out water, and going under. Charming immediately leapt into the water, swimming towards her with forceful strides. He dragged her back onto the docks, and aid her body in front of everyone on the wooden floor.

"Quickly, someone give her CPR" Emma said.

"no need, dearie" Mr Gold said. "I'll heal her"

"Yeah? At what price?" Emma said sharply.

"Does it matter? Just save her!" Mary Margaret exclaimed.

"It can't be" gold said, looking at the woman. "I must save her now- but the price is- once she's healed, send her to me straight away. No questions asked"

"Done" Emma said.

Henry knelt beside the woman, looking t her in curiosity as Gold waved his arm slowly over the woman.

She gave slow, shallow breaths as she looked at the little boy in front of her.

"Done. I'd suggest some rest- a couple of days. Then bring her to me. I have some unfinished business with this little one" he said, almost bitterly, Lacey followed him as they walked off.

"Let's take her back to ours" Emma said, as Charming hoisted her up in his arms.

An hour later, they all poured into the kitchen, Emma making tea for the couple.

"I think it's a good thing, taking this girl- woman- in. Acts of kindness are the most important" Mary Margaret beamed "and I can't help but recognise her. It's odd"

"Well, I did it more for Henry to be honest. I hoping he'll get so distracted with this that it takes his mind of his dad for a while" Emma sighed, looking down at the unconscious woman.

Henry sat, looking at her. She was wearing a green gown, made of floating materials, rich, like silk and gossamer. Her hair was red, long, and curly, reaching down to her waist. He eyes were blue, with feck of gold in them. She gave a weak smile, and reached over, touching his face softy, then going back to sleep.

The woman opened her eyes to the sight of a bright, happy room, with soft blankets, pastel colours, flowers in vases and light streaming in through the window. The smell of bacon, eggs, filled her nose and she used her elbows to prop her up. She looked to see a blonde woman smiling down at her, holding a tray awkwardly.

"Here- some breakfast. Uh, Mary Margaret made it, I can't really cook" she said, giving a slight smile.

"Thank you" the woman coughed. She took the tray, and looked at the food. "I haven't had bacon and egg in years" she said, looking down ravenously.

"Realy/ I couldn't survive without it" the blonde woman said, drinking coffee.

"Oh… I'm more of a vegetarian" she said "But, I could really get used to this" the woman grinned.

"Well, eat up, and then we'll talk" Emma said, patting Henrys head as he slept on the edge of the bed.

The woman cut into the bacon, and egg, taking bites of warm, buttoned toast, fat, juicy sausages and crispy bacon, delicately sipping at a glad of orange juice until she was all finished.

"Thank you so much" she said, leaning back and closing her eyes. "That was perfect"

"I'm guessing you'll want to get freshened up, too" Emma said. "Showers at the back, and there are warm towels and clothes for you"

"Bless you" the woman said, standing up, stumbling.

"Pins and needles? Or just feeling woozy?" Emma said. The woman looked like she was struggling to walk.

"Oh.. yeah. Just a little dizzy"

Emma could tell she was lying. Odd. "Well, I'll give you half an hour, but we have to be quick. My parents will be back soon, and we all need answers"

Precisely 30 minutes later the woman came back, in jeans and a nice, blue knitted jumper.

"I know who you are" the little boy looked up at her. "You're Ariel"

"That's right" she smiled down, confused "And how exactly do you know that, little boy" her accent was a mixture of many different languages, but was sweet and feminine.

"you're the little mermaid. One of my favourite stories" The boy thrust a book at her, and she saw a picture of mermaids, with one looking fairly like herself in the middle.

"Well, now we're all getting introduced, Ariel this is Henry, and these are my parents, Mary-Margaret and David, otherwise known as-"

"Snow and Charming!" Ariel said "YesI know you! We met at the princess fair, when you were a child" she said to Mary Margaret.

"But- but how?" Mary Margaret said "You're the same age as you were back then"

"yes. I was human back then, people knew me as Aurelia. But I got cursed and turned into a mermaid I stopped aging. I am now immortal, too" Ariel said.

"Well, you'd better tell us the full story" Emma said, sitting down "We're going to need to understand"

Aurelia opened the latch of the cottage door slowly, so as not to wake her aunt. The door made a small creaking sound, and she slipped out, closing it quietly behind her. She wrapped her dark blue cloak around her as she headed down the path leading into the forest.

On the way she picked up her lantern from the hiding place in an oak tree and lit it with a match, holding it up so she could view the dark, tall tree's. Her feet, wearing only a pair of thin shoes, made the leaves rustle underneath her as she made her way to the lake. When she arrived, she parting the long wall of ivy that guarded the entrance to her secret place, and whispered quietly "Peter" to see if her friend was near.

He appeared, holding a lantern and beaming, and the friends hugged tightly. Peter and Aurelia had grown up as children together, until they became teenagers and their guardians had forced them to stop spending time together. Peter was the heartthrob of the village, with his golden locks of hair and small, shy smile. The girls all fawned over him as he made his way through the town, but his heart belonged to Aurelia. However, she did not return the feelings for him. Aurelia's heart belonged to adventure, to danger. They sat on the moss, and Aurelia opened her latest book. They came down to the lake every night, sometimes to talk, sometimes just to enjoy each others company. They always came down to dream. Peter dreamed of glory, and fame. Of his parents being proud of their boy. Aurelia dreamed of far away lands, and tall, dark handsome princes whisking her away. It never happened.

"So I figured it goes without saying that we're going to the fairdowns ball together" Peter said, mending his boots and Aurelia poured into a book, lying on her front with her elbows propping her up.

"Of course. Though you really needn't call it a ball, the Fairdowns aren't that grand" she gave a small laugh.

"yes, but aren't you always complaining about there not being enough events? Now you have one!" peter said teasingly. Aurelia put down her book.

"You make me sound like an old woman! But yes, I suppose you're right. And honestly, I am excited. Aunt Miriam even bought me material for a new dress. She'll have to make it for me though, I know I won't be able to make it"

"That's because you're awful at anything womanly" Peter aid, earning a scowl from the girl. "Oh c'mon Aurelia, you always say it- you'd much rather be playing in mud sword fighting than sitting indoors sewing all day"

"Well, that's fair enough" Aurelia said, turning back to her book. She couldn't concentrate. The Fairdowns ball was tomorrow night, and she was terribly excited. There would be rich foods there, good quality meat and ale, and the deserts would be divine, pastry's with heavy cream and even exotic fruits. The only price to pay would be the company of the Fairdown's daughter, Freda. She loved Peter completely, and had always hated Aurelia from childhood, mocking her clothes, her aunt, their little sweet cottage on the outskirts of the village. And now they were young women, she would criticise her etiquette, her personality and most hurtfully, Aurelia's looks.

Peter had always said Aurelia was the most beautiful of the village- long, auburn curled hair, green eyes and a small nose. But how could that compare the Freda's dark, straight elaborately styled hair, her heavy eyebrows and strong jawbone. Whenever Peter saw Aurelias eyes red from crying, he would say "Yeah, but she looks like a horse" automatically knowing it was about Freda, and cheering Aurelia up.

A few hours later Peter walked Aurelia home, and was acting differently. He seemed skittish, nervous and kept opening his mouth then closing it, not finishing his sentences. As Aurelia closed the garden gate behind her, he said "I'll see you tomorrow, right?" but before she's answered he'd hurried off mumbling to himself. Aurelia laughed. What a strange boy.

She snuck inside, putting her beautiful cloak on a hook and climbing into her warm, comfy bed, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep, with thoughts mingling between balls and princes, dragons and forests.

"Oh, my heart" Aunt Miriam said. She looked at Aurelia with tears in her eyes.

"Oh please don't cry aunt" Aurelia said, rushing to hug her.

"I'm happy, my darling. My beautiful girl has grown up" Miriam wailed "Oh don't look at me, I look like a haggard old witch! Go, my beautiful young girl, go and have fun!" Miriam placed a hand on her forehead dramatically and swept out of the room. Aurelia looked at her reflection in a basin of water. Her hair was styled with intricate plaits that restrained her unruly hair which fell down her back. Her dress- a royal blue, made her hair look like fire, and matched her cloak. She even had dainty, lace gloves on, and new silk shoes.

Peter waited outside, the sun making his hair shin like spun gold. He bowed, laughing as she curtseyed to him.

"Aurelia, you look great" he said, taking her arm. She beamed, and they began the short walk to the Fairdowns big house. It was in the middle of the centre, and as they reached it, Aurelias eyes lit up with wonder. It looked like something from a fairytale. There were stalls set up selling books, jewellery, food goods and everything you could imagine. The smell of fresh warm bread and grass and lavender filled the centre, and there was a huge bonfire sitting on the flagstone centre.

Aurelia and Peter entered the hall, smiling. Cassandra, one of Aurelias great friends, rushed up.

"Cassandra, you look breathtaking!" Aurelia said. Cassandra was wearing a bright yellow dress, her hair pushed back to show her rounded, heart-shaped face which flushed immediately. Aurelia leaned in "I think Gregor would certainly agree with me" ensuring a new shade of beetroot. Cassandra hugged Aurelia tightly.

"Oh, do you think so? Tonights the night I think! Do you know tonight is supposedly the night where all true loves find another? How romantic!"

Peter coughed, looking flustered. Aurelia raised her arched eyebrows at him and shrugged, then sauntered off to the food table.

"Hello Michael" she said, greeting her friend.

Michael was a chubby shy boy, who was incredibly serious and clever. He smiled at Aurelia, and offered her a bread roll, which she offered and nibbled on, then taking a sip of a dark red wine.

The party was magnificent. Aurelia had eaten her fill of the delicious food, enjoyed the company of her friend's and had been asked to dance by many different boys. To top it off, Freda was concentrating on wooing Peter, and had no time to insult Aurelia.

As Peter and Aurelia had finished slow dancing, he began to speak.

"Aurelia… We've been friends for so long now.. and"

"yes, I know" she smiled "And you're a wonderful Peter. Oh, I'm having such a wonderful time! It's so perfect, all of it"

"And I think you're beautiful" he continued, stumbling on words and his breathing was different.

"Are you okay, Peter? You don't look very well" Aurelia observed.

"I need to tell you… that.. well, Aurelia, I-"

"If everybody would like to go outside for the final dance!" Freda screeched, making everyone turn to the doors. The dark night was lit with stars as the bonfire was burning, lighting up the courtyard.

Aurelia took Peters hand, then Cassandra, who was blushing as Gregor took her hand and gave her a kiss on her cheek. As they all interlinked hand, the final dance began, an upbeat one which meant swapping of partners. Aurelia's face was flushed, a great smile on her face, her eyes half closed in the euphoria of the night. She swapped from Peters clammy grip to a strangers firm, cool hands, and, still beaming, her face turned towards the heavens, opened her eyes.

She gasped, startled. It was certainly not a boy holding her, but a man. He was tall, with dark hair and was so very, very handsome that it took her breath away. His blue eyes were bright and brilliant and stared into her emerald ones. He was wearing black, and had a sword at his hip.

"Sorry for cutting in- I hope you don't mind" he said casually, in a smooth voice accompanied by a lazy smile.


	2. Servant

They turned and twisted, eyes not coming off each other for a second.

"Who are you?" Aurelia asked, eyes blazing with curiosity.

"Names Killian. Killian Jones. And you have no idea how much it pains me to stop this dance- no idea- there's something I have to do" he said, and raised his hand in the air. Suddenly, there were screams, and the music stopped as men flooded the courtyard. The young adult woman ran, screaming as the older and younger men grabbed their swords. The new men had disarmed the majority of the townspeople easily.

Aurelia's eyes widened in horror as this stranger- Killian- grabbed Freda, placing a dagger to her throat.

"Now, now, quieten down" he said casually. "Where's Lord Fairdown?" he said, as Freda struggled against his strong grip.

"Here- I'm here" Stephen Fairdown emerged from the crowd, his red face looking furious. "Let go of my daughter, you beast"

"That I'm afraid I can't do, Lord Fairdown. You see, your brother has offended me greatly, stealing my ship and money. And since he has disappeared, the next best thing would be you. The terms are simple- buy me a new ship and reimburse me of the price your brother took. If you don't do this in five days time when the sun sets, I will slit your daughters throat. Agreed?"

Fairdowns face was white with horror. "b-but yo can't"

"but I can" Killian said coldly. "And I will. I want a ship. And I'l have it. If not, me and my men will start working through the village, killing the young women. In fact, just for good measure, I think we'll take one now" he said, and his eyes settled on Aurelia.

"You" he said, and she stood, back straight, glaring at him. The reaction was incredibly.

Peter lunged in front of her, sword in hand, his face furious and violent. Cassandra ran to Aurelia's side, grabbing her hand, and Michael padded to her other side. A few others in the crowd protested also, Aurelia was well-liked and popular amongst her village.

The man- Killian, smiled. "well, that was certainly quite a reaction. I suppose you're quite special- more so than the lords daughter, it would seem" Freda grimaced as he got hold of her more firmly.

"New terms. This new girl" he pointed at Aurelia "comes with me too, or I'll kill five more girls right now" he said, his men jeering.

"Like hell you will" Peter said.

"This is nonsense" lord Fairdown said "You will take neither of the girls, or receive any money. I am not my brother, and will not pay for his crimes"

"You have to. The thing you need to know about me- I'm a pirate. And I always get what I want." Killian said. "Now. AM I going to have to kill someone, or are you going to come here, love?" he said, eyes still on Aurelia.

"Fine" Aurelia said, loudly.

"No!" peter, Cassandra, Michael and others all yelled in protest.

"It's fine, I can handle it!" Aurelia said "I don't want anyone dying because of me. Now, let go, I will go with him" She hugged Cassandra and Michael, and turned to Peter. His eyes were full of desperation.

"I have to, Peter" she whispered.

"I'll find you. I promise I will rescue you" he said.

"I know you will-" but before she had finished, he leaned in, kissing her. She was more shocked then than the rest of the night.

He kissed her, and despite it being peter, it was hard and frantic, before Aurelia pulled away. "I tried to tell you tonight" Peter said. "I'm sorry Aurelia. I will rescue you, I will" and put his forehead to hers, shutting his eyes. The crowd were silent apart from a few sobs here and there- because of the night's trauma or the sight of Peter kissing a girl- Aurelia didn't know.

The pirate- Killian- looked bitter and hateful, his eyes narrowed at Peter as Aurelia walked over t him. He shoved Freda to another man and took Aurelia himself. Surprisingly, his hands on her hips didn't feel horrible- in fact, they were gentle and firm and felt almost comforting. Feeling sick, Aurelia looked ahead, determined not to talk to the pirate. More importantly, she needed to process what had just happened with Peter. She was certain she did not have romantic feeling for him. She loved him, and could easily marry him, but true love? No. It was impossible.

The rope binding her hands scratched at her wrists, and she kept her head up high, walking gracefully onto the ship. She was thrown into a tiny, little room with a lumpy cold mattress on the swaying ship floor. She turned to face the wall, not allowing herself to cry. She filled her thoughts with hope, and love.

"please, please, someone help me" she whispered. There was silence, which was broken by an eerie giggle. She leapt up, turning. A small man with odd, crocodile skin, and curly hair was leaning by the locked door.

"Hello, dearie" he said.

"Who are you?" Aurelia said.

"The names- Rumplestiltskin. And yours is Aurelia, I know. Now here it is, dearie, I'm going to make you a deal. I'll offer you a way out of this" he gestured around "mess, and then you owe me something"

"What will I owe you?"

"I haven't decided yet. Take it or leave it"

She considered her options. Stay here with some murderous pirate, or owe a favour to some strange man. Neither prospect was comforting, so when he held the long document in front of her and produced a quill, she signed it.

The ropes binding her wrists slid off, just as the pirate walked in.

"What's going on here?" he asked, furiously. Aurelia stood behind the other man slightly, who turned to her, smiled, and grabbed her wrist.

Aurelia's last sight was the pirates deep, dark eyes looking at her, then nothing.

She awoke to standing in a hall. "I have thought it up. The service you owe me. You are to remain here for an entire year, doing my every bidding, my cooking, cleaning and tasks. If you stay here the year, you are free. If you leave, or escape before that, then I shall cast you into the sea. That is my deal"

"Fine" Aurelia said. The first month was the hardest. Endless labour, carrying buckets of water up flights of stairs, catching dust in her nose. Over time Rumplestilskin trusted her enough to his closest possessions- an enchanted arrow, dangerous books, magical potions, all except a chipped cup.

"Who was she?" When she was him pouring over it, lost in memories.

"Gone" he said simply, returning to his steering wheel. She served me, like you did, but now she's gone. I almost prefer you" he gave a little giggle.

"I doubt that. Well, whoever she is, I hope you find her" she said.

After that, he began letting her out of the castle, and she began haggling at markets for certain potions, hunting out men and woman that owed him favours. She wrote accounts for all the favours he'd ever done. He taught her the basics of magic.

In all, 9 months later, she had never worked harder in her life. She missed her aunt, she missed Peter and her friends, and she missed her village. She missed being able to run around in the sun, not stalking figures at night. She began to change. She grew stronger through countless fights, found her way with a sword. She gained knowledge through Rumples favours, and learnt simple magic that somehow, flowed through her veins. She couldn't particularly use magic, not without him by to make sure she didn't break something.

Living with him was difficult. Often, he would fly into rages of temper, and they would fight, get into countless arguments and debates. He would starve her, send her to the dungeons with the rats and the mice trying to bite her feet. He would increase her workload so that he back felt like it would break, her eyelids could barely open she was so tired. He would make sly comments and horrible remarks about her looks and personality and it would hurt her. Sometimes he wasn't so bad, and they could have interesting talks. When he opened up to her, particularly about love, she saw a new side to him. But she couldn't leave. She wondered where Peter was at this moment, whether her aunt was happy, and what happened to that pirate, what was his name again? Killian. She often dreamt about him, or rather, dark eyes and ships, anchors and ropes drifting through her mind.

But she knew that she would never see him again, and that was probably for the best. Once she'd finished her service for this horrid little man, she'd go back home to Peter and her aunt and be safe.

One night, Rumple had been gone for a week, and she had been finishing up the accounts, locking them away, when she heard something smashing, like glass. She grabbed her sword, and went down into the main hall. Smoke lined the corridors, and she tried not to cough. She touched the handle, which bunt her hand but swung open, revealing tall, long flames engulfing the dark red curtains, the books, even the spinning wheel.

She turned, running to go out one of the servants passage ways but came face to face with a short, fat man, who hit her over the head with some kind of metal object.

She woke up in the corridor, coughing. Her eyes were blinded, and she called for help and rumple but he did not answer. She tried to breath in but coughed again, choking. Her eyes blinked and she swayed, falling to the floor, blood on her face.

She felt strong arms pick her up, and she met the dark eyes of the handsome pirate, Killian Jones.

"My God" he said "Don't worry, I've got you" and swung her up, carrying her out of the castle as it burned own.

For some reason, he led her away from the jeering shouts of his men, laying her down on the grass outside.

"Don't hurt me" she said, with closed eyes. She couldn't see the tenderness in the way he stroked her cheek, the anger in his eyes looking at her wounds.

"What has that monster done to you?" he said "Did you make a deal with him?

"Yes" she breathed in the sweet clear eyes, feeling his eyes on her rising chest. "but although I must be kept here for a year, like a slave, I am almost free. Your men did this to me" she scowled at him, and he leant down, brushing the blood from her forehead.

"Come away with me. Run away from him, and you will truly be free. We met under uncomfortable circumstances. I would never have hurt the girl, you see. I wouldn't hurt a defenceless woman" he insisted.

She shook her head.

"I'd rather be his slave for ten years than be with you for ten days" she spat.

"I won't offer to rescue you again, darling" he said, stroking her cheek softly. "I'll protect you. Take care of you" he whispered, leaning in, and it took all the willpower in her body not to lean in towards him.

"Killian" she breathed, next to his ear.

"yes, love?"

"I can take care of myself." And with that she kneed him sharply in the delicate area between his legs, punched his jaw with her fist, and run away. She ran into the forest, her arms being torn by thorns, her face mudded and ripped, some of her hair singed. Her dress was damaged greatly and she had sprained her ankle, and her head hurt. Two days later, with neither food nor water, she stumbled back to the castle.

She saw Rumple, and staggered towards him.

"Help me" she said, gasping and falling to her knees.

"My castle's burnt down" he said, nonchalantly. He took her in, her bleeding wounds, her limbs falling limp by her sights, her bloodshot eyes and dry, cracked lips. The dried blood crusting on her head, the smell of burnt hair, her empty stomach groaning and her harsh breaths.

"Yes- the pirate. Please, give me some water, or food. Please help me" she said, swaying.

He produced a pitcher of cool water, an warm loaf of bread, cheese, meat, bandages and soothing ointments, damp towels to wash her with and a new, pretty dress. After spending a year with this man, she now appreciated the kind, good side in him. He was saving her. She would be okay. She needed to be protected, to be treated kindly, and here her master was. She gave a pathetic, grateful smile, forcing back the tears that were produced, and reached for the items. As they came into contact with her hand they all got destroyed. The water vanished, the food rotted and burnt before her eyes, bandaged on fire, the ointments breaking, towel's grew muddy and thorny, the new dress torn into rags worse than the one she had on. She looked up at him, confused.

"you let- my castle- BURN DOWN" he roared. Yes, yes, I can rebuild it- but the magical possessions and items I had inside you have no idea you stupid little fool!"

"What was I supposed to do?" she croaked "Why didn't YOU put a magical protection on it?"

He backhanded her, splitting her cut cheek open. She fell to the floor and passed out.

When she awoke, it was in the dungeon on a straw mattress with half a cup of warm, stagnated water and a slice of hardened bread.

"Curel, wicked man" she muttered furiously "Don't ever trust him again, Aurelia. Don't you dare. Never forget what he- and men- have done to you. Find your way back to the village, and aunt, and peter. Leave magic, and pirates, and weird men with stupid laughs well alone"

Hours of stewing furiously later, she was summoned downstairs.

Rumple sat at the end of the table, his chipped cup in front of him. "It seems I was a little… harsh to you, Aurelia, and I apologise. My temper gets to me sometimes, but I am trying to be… good" he said, struggling on the word. "you are to have the most lavish, delightful meal of your life, then you can have a nice warm bath and choose the finest bed in the castle. I will heal your wounds and you can have a week- five days- off work. I think that is fair enough"

Aurelia bowed her head. "Of course. We'll be friends again"

"Er.. Yes. Master and servant friends… but yes."

Aurelia stared down to the food. Everything was there. She ate, and ate and drank her fill until she could not possibly consume anymore. She had a relaxing bath, a new dress and slept in a comfortable bed with silk sheets and soft pillows.

That day repeated, until on the Friday, Rumple went to do his errands in a little town or village, and she grabbed a bag, filled it with long lasting food and drink, and some valuables that she could sell on her way. She had not forgiven him. That act of cruelty had hardened her heart. She wanted to be young, and innocent again, believing in the good of people. She wanted to bruises to fade, and her pain to leave. She wanted to feel safe, and loved, and she could not stand another night in this terrible castle. She wanted to let rumple know how much he had hurt her. If he came after her, so let him.

The chipped cup stood on it's little podium, and she back handed it, just like he had done to her face. She trod in the shattered remains and walked out of the doors. It would probably be fixed, but she needed to do something to get her anger out. Aurelia had a feeling that cup meant a lot to him, and she felt almost… evil in breaking it. She was losing herself. She had been trapped way too long, and she looked up at the night sky and the heavens opened, rain pouring down, and she finally, finally felt free. She was going home. She walked for a long time in the twilight, until the pounding of horses hooves became distinct. The rain poured down, making her hair straggly and stick to her cheeks. She shivered, her skin looking pale and luminous in the moonlight. She hid by a tree, and looked, but it was not his carriage. She stood in front, holding her arms up. The horses buckled, stopping in front of her, and the carriage wheeled slowly to a stop.

Aurelia squinted through the thick rain at the rider, but could not see. Suddenly, there was a woman in front of her, smiling down. She was dark-haired, and pretty, and wore a long purple cloak of velvet.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" she said, still smiling at Aurelia.

"I- I'm lost" Aurelia said, still shivering with the cold.

"I can see that. You're lips are blue, how odd" the woman said curiously. "Well, I think it's best I introduce myself. I am the queen, and you are in my lands now" she said, quite coldly.

"I apologise, queen. I have just escaped from a cruel master, and I do not know the lands I'm travelling in. please forgive me" Aurelia bent her head slightly. She was to tired to stand up against the woman, so just acted meekly.

"You must come with me. You can serve me, if you wish" the queen said, haughtily.

"I'd rather not" Aurelia said. "I am a free woman, and I must travel to return home, to where my family, and friends are"

"It wasn't really an offer, dear. More of an order. You may come willingly or you may be dragged by your hair to my castle. You are to be one of my most trusted servants, or you may sleep in the dungeons with the rats. What do you choose?"

Aurelia listened to the rain pounding, making the mud of the floor slick and messy.

"I will go willingly" she said.

After a days travel, a hour of sleep, Aurelia found herself- yet again- a servant. She wore a pale blue dress, and had mundane tasks such as making bread, sweeping the floor, running errands and messages for the queen. This carried on for another year or so, and Aurelia could feel the change within her. She was tougher, stronger, but a little bit colder, a little bit less innocent. She wanted nothing more than to be young, at home, running around in meadows with peter and being read stories from her aunt. Yet she did not cry, or break down, but remained strong, steeling herself for the months ahead. Winter came, and the nights grew short and cold. Aurelia would look out of her bedroom window, her breath frosting up the glass as she looked at the snowflakes dancing down from the sky. It was so magical.

One night, Aurelia was making the beds, when she heard a scream, and she ran to the queens room, grabbing a torch from one of the hallways. She skidded into the room, bracing herself, but just saw the queen looking at a mirror.

"your majesty?" Aurelia asked.

"Oh, Aurelia" the queen said. "Come here. Look at my face"

After months of seeing the queens power, Aurelia reluctantly went to face the queen, looking her dead in the eye.

"Aurelia, for some unknown reason you remind me of myself, despite being a peasant. And as much as it pains me to say this- I trust you. Now I've been having some issues with someone- someone that betrayed me. I need your advice on it"

"Is this about snow white?" Aurelia simply said.

The queens lips pursed and she let out a sly hiss "well, yes. She betrayed me, ruined my life. Yet the people still love her, he has her one true love and I have nothing. My heart has gone black and cold and hers gets stronger by the day. I want to crush her. Tell me how"

Aurelia paused. "Well" she chewed her lip "Maybe Snow isn't the problem. Maybe you are. You are the queen, you have power and wealth beyond imagining, you have armies and a castle, which compared with what I used to have is a lot. Instead of trying to crush Snow, you should try and forget about her. Ruining her happiness won't make you happy. It's the idea of it that you love. As for your heart, I believe you have good in you. Show that goodness, and you will have the people behind you, and maybe a true love of your own"

The queen had turned, her face weary. Aurelia shivered slightly, still holding the torch. She wondered if she was going to get killed for her words.

"Perhaps you're right. Perhaps you're not. We'll never know. Because I will destroy her. That'll be all, Aurelia"

And she swept towards her desk. Aurelia turned, replacing the torch, and went back to her duties.

As she was wiping the window, her final act before she could finally clamber into bed and sleep, she saw a dot of yellow on the horizon. She kept her eyes on it, and then it was joined by a few other dots, and more, and more. Suddenly, she realised. They weren't dots, they were torches. The castle was being attacked. Aurelia froze. Friend or foe? Friend or foe? She knew many good towns wanted to bring the castle down, but she had some loyalty to her mistress, the queen. Should she raise the alarm? Or should she try to escape? Would the men attacking kill her, or save her?

She thought about the look in the queens eyes when talking about Snow white, and she knew. She couldn't be the one to raise the alarm. It would mean the man below would be slaughtered. Instead, she ran downstairs, down to the courtyard, hiding in the shadows with bare feet. She slipped into the blacksmiths, receiving a sword, then back onto the cobbled square with the black iron gate looking strong. She waited, in silence, behind a marble black pillar. Finally, she heard the warning bell, and hooves pounding, thousands. She got a good stance behind the pillar as the queens men filled the area, and some of the servants running and screaming. It all happened so quickly. The iron gates were opened, and the army charged in, swords high.

The fight was horrible. There was the sound of the clash of metal on metal, ringing in the ears. Screams of men were carried all around, and sometimes the slosh of blood being splattered on the stone floor. A fire started, making the area hot, and uncomfortable. Aurelia stood awkwardly, unsure of who to attack. Her identity was torn, she had no idea where her allegiance lied. The fire spread along the courtyard, lighting up the fight and making every detail clearer. A man came up to her, one of the new ones, and looked down with fury in his eyes at the queens markings on the slave bracelet Aurelia wore. He reached up with his sword intending to behead her, but Aurelia quickly darted her hand forward, the sword plunging into his stomach and she yanked it out, breathing hard. Aurelia looked to the leader, trying to distinguish whether she knew him or not.

He wore shiny knights armour, with an unfamiliar crest. His helmet was on, and he fought courageously, taking down many of the queens men. He took his helmet off in the heat of battle, throwing it with a clank to the side. Blonde hair, and a handsome, chiselled face. Aurelia would know that face anywhere, despite the two or more years that had separated them. It was Peter.


	3. Reunion

She ran towards him, leaping over the fire that singed the bottom on her dress. She killed anybody who stood in her way, slashing at random body parts that tried to grab her. Suddenly, it seemed that anybody was trying to kill her, and she got into a heated battle with five or so men, trying to hold them off. Her only hope was many metres away, so she took in a deep, deep breath and screamed at the top of her lungs "PETER" again, and again, until, he turned to her. She breathed hard, still swinging her sword to meet others, ducking and weaving to try and not get sliced up.

Peters face was white, his mouth open, eyes wide and disbelieving. His whole body was rigid, and his men had to form a ring to stop the attackers. He sprinted towards her, leaping over broken crates, slashing at mens arms and bringing them down, closing the distance.

Aurelia felt a searching pain slice through her arm, seeing it had been cut badly. She fell to her knee's, and heard Peter cry out for them to stop, but she didn't know if his own men- or the queens- would listen. She closed her eyes, waiting.

Nothing happened. Opening her eyes, she saw peter standing there, sword crushed against anothers, both men straining and gritting their teeth, eyes narrowed in fury.

"Malrick, protect the girl with your life. And prepare to retreat" he said. A man stood next to Aurelia, picking her up easily. He was one of the tallest men she had ever seen in her life.

She was placed on a white horse as Peters men began to retreat, and suddenly, she felt Peter swing up behind her on the horse, holding the reins tight, his arms safely holding her. They tore away, the men following. Aurelia was lulled into sleep by the rhythmic horse gallop, and leant back against Peters armour, falling asleep.

The dream began. She was in a forest, tangled up in a net, and heard a safe voice calling to her. She was cut down, and fell into strong, safe arms. Expecting it to be Peter, she turned, smiling, but looked into the face of Killian Jones, his dark eyes taunting hers.

"I'll always catch you, Aurelia" he said, and then she passed out, safe in his arms.

When she awoke, she was vaguely aware of being carried by Peter to a tent. She was placed inside, and felt a hand stroke her face.

She fell unconscious again. This was becoming an annoying habit.

When she woke up, she cursed her habit of passing out all the time. There was a loaf of bread and a mug of water next to her, and she ate and drank greedily. She combed her hair with her fingers, and smoothed down her dress, trying to look presentable. Her mind span over the events. She hadn't seen her childhood friend in two years. She'd obviously changed. What if he didn't like this new Aurelia? Maybe she'd gone cold with being mistreated by Rumplestiltskin and the queen, the endless hours of slaving. She sat on a small box, fiddling with her dress, and looking at her bandaged arm when Peter walked in. They both froze, and then ran to each other, hugging desperately.

"I knew I would find you" he said breathlessly, stroking her red hair and holding her tight. "I'm so glad you're safe, so, so glad. I didn't know what would happen to you, where you'd be… Aurelia, I've missed you so much"

She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "Well, it's a long story. Perhaps we should sit down…"

Hour later, after telling their tales while apart, Aurelia found out that Peter had been searching for her every day for a year since they parted. When he gave up hope, he joined an army against the queen and her dark magic, working his way up to the top of the ranks.

They talked for hours, and Aurelia got the sense of Peters passion for his new cause. The rage he spoke with when talking about the queen, his kindness and love for the people, trying to protect them, keep them calm. His enthusiasm when talking about certain swords or horses or fighting stances, he was just the same as ever. But they had both changed, completely. So many thing shad happened to them both had driven them apart, their lives not being routine and the same anymore. When they laid down to go to sleep, Aurelia ha a niggling feeling that things wouldn't be right, wouldn't be the same since when they were children. They had been apart for so long, maybe their friendship couldn't be repaired.

When Aurelia woke, she saw an empty space next to her. She rose, and left the tent, walking about to see the men sharpening or cleaning their swords, playing cards or washing things in the river next to them. She walked down right to the bottom of the river, took her dress off and washed, then hurriedly dressed and returned to the camp, her hair damp. She felt odd and not at home. All the men looked at her, and she could not find Peter. She sat by herself against a tree, until the man that picked her up the night before sat down next to her.

"It's not perfect, but it'll do" he said, passing her a bowl of porridge.

"Thank you" she said "I'm Aurelia"

"Malrick- pleased to meet you love" he said, taking a bite of his own porridge. He was tall, and lanky, and was probably about 30. His nose was a bit too bit for his face but he wasn't particularly unattractive.

"Peters told me all about you" he said, and she turned to him, raising her eyebrows. "Oh yeah, doesn't bleeding stop. No wonder all the lads stare at you, finally meeting the love of his life, Aurelia!"

Aurelia grimaced on the word love. She had forgotten about their kiss, before their separation. She had hoped it was a friendship love and not a romantic one that had fuelled Peter to find her.

"It's been a long time since Peter and I have been together- a lot has changed. We've both changed" she said, looking down.

"You've had a hard time- I can tell" Malrick said "I can see pain in your eyes and weariness in your heart. Don't worry, things will work out soon enough one day. We'll all have our happy ending" he said.

"I hope you're right" Aurelia said, and the pair looked out to the distance, in an easy relaxed state.

…

Meanwhile, the queen raged. "RUMPLESTITSKIN" she roared, the little man appearing behind her, as always.

"Yeeeeees?" he said "You called, dearie?"

"Deal. Now" she said furiously. I've heard you're looking for an ex-employee of yours. A beautiful woman with red hair, to be more precise"

"What about it?" Rumplestiltskin face grew dark, the air seemed to vibrate around him in anger.

"I can tell you where she is- if you help me"

"Anything" he said, his voice deep and low.

"I want all Lord Fairdowns men to be confiscated. Thrown in jail. ESPECIALLY the leader- Peter. I want him alive, and in my dungeons. By tonight"

"It's done" he said. "Now, where is she?"

"Before I tell you, I would like to know what you're going to do with her. I was very fond of her, she was an interesting little thing, and I hope to meet her again one day"

"That's my business, not yours, evil queen" He said "But as for meeting her again- I highly doubt that"

"hmph" the queen said, going to a chest of draws and reaching in, taking out a cloak. "This was hers, before. I'm sure you can find her through a spell through her possessions, yes?"

"Indeed" he said, taking the cloak from her. "I will never say this again, Regina, but… thank you."

"As long as I get my part of the deal, we're fine. Now go" the queen said. She turned away from him, looking down at the caste courtyard, still stained with the blood of both intruders and her men. She did not feel sorrow, only rage. And a slight curiosity to where her servant had gone. And what Rumplestiltskin would do with her. She shrugged it off. It didn't matter any more. The only thing that mattered was gaining the peoples control. She heard Rumplestiltskin still behind her, holding the cloak tightly in his hands.

With one last, dark chuckle, he had gone.


	4. Alone

"So, where exactly are we going?" Aurelia asked as ten of the group headed into the woods.

"To a special place that we can hide out for a while" Peter said "Aurelia, remember when we were kids we wanted to stay young forever? It's not too late, we could still have that"

"What are you talking about?" Aurelia asked, pushing back branches of tree's and tripping over twigs.

"Well he began, taking her hand as she almost tripped to death by a boulder "We're going to a place called neverland"

"Doesn't sound very nice" Aurelia commented "Never what? But why? Peter, I want to go home. I've been away for so long, and I just want to go and see my aunt, and meet up with everyone…" she trailed off by his face. "What's wrong?"

Peter couldn't look her in the eye. "I was wondering when I'd have to tell you" he said, looking older and weary.

"Tell me" she said, bluntly.

"About a year after you were taken, I searched and looked for you. When I returned, the village was gone. Houses burnt down to the ground, everything gone. It was awful. The market was deserted, the streets blown to pieces. All the people were said to have been killed by the queen. I returned, and Lord Fairdown was raising an army. I had almost given up looking for you, I figured you were dead, or worse. So I joined the army against the evil queen. Aurelia, I'm so sorry. Maybe your aunt escaped, I don't know"

Aurelia turned away from him, needing privacy, but still could not cry. She felt so alone. Her family, parents, grandparents, and her favourite aunt had all died. All her friends had been massacred in the village. Rumplestiltskin was ever a friend to begin with. The queen was evil. Peter was still good, and true, but not the same boy. He was a man now, with a purpose. And Killian… well she still didn't know what to make of him. She's been tossing and turning it over in her mind. He'd offered to save her, but at the time she thought it was a trap. He wasn't to be trusted, but at the same time she longed to see him again, to hear his voice, to get butterflies in her stomach and her heart racing when he leant in towards her. Obviously it was the danger she liked, not just him.

Turns out it wasn't the danger she liked. In fact, she hated danger.

They continued walking for a couple of more hours, until Aurelia became incredibly tired, and hot, and she felt utterly defeated. She wanted to lie down and sleep, her limbs were aching and her mind needed a rest. Images of her aunt tumbled through her head, tucking her into bed, dressing her hair, baking in the afternoon, picking gooseberries from their little garden. Her friends, she didn't even want to think about, she would cry and breakdown and she hadn't cried in years. She had steeled herself, she was becoming stronger, less weak, less vulnerable. She set her face, and continued after Peter, plunging into the woodland.

They approached some kind of sea, and Peter was pointing up at the sky, discussing how they were going to use a certain portal thought magic of some kind, but she wasn't listening. The sea was a calm, blue grey colour. It looked peaceful, and she almost longed to jump in, feel the smooth water against her skin and her troubles to wash away. Peter produced magic bean from his pocket and they gathered round as he threw it into the sea, and a hole opened up, making a roaring sound. Everyone held their ears.

"Right, we should probably jump through separately, just in case it's a bumpy ride" Peter said. The men jumped through straight away, until just the two of them remained.

"Ladies first?" peter said, grinning, and she smiled at him. Finally, it was like old times. This was a perfect moment, they were heading into the unknown together, just like they were kids. Nothing could ruin this moment.

"AURELIA" a voice yelled out, furiously. Rumplestiltskin was on the horizon.

"Oh god, no" Aurelia's face was a picture of horror.

"Who is it? Aurelia?" Peter asked, his face filled with panic. He stood in front of her protectively, but with a wave of rumples arm he was torn to the side, and into the portal. At least he was safe- she thought.

Hate and rage began to slowly build within her, like a volcano. She felt it, red and hot darkness in the pit of her stomach.

"You ran away from me" Rumplestiltskin said "You know what that means? You broke our deal. And now, you will get the punishment" His face matched how she felt. Aurelia snapped.

"I don't care" Aurelia screamed as the portal roared, the winds picking up. "You are a cruel, horrible beast, and you are going to die alone, and unloved. Everything you have will mean nothing, and you will realise that. The only good thing you ever had was that woman, and you ruined it, because that's all you do- Destroy things! So I'm glad I ran away, and broke your stupid, ridiculous cup. It's a reminder of how you will never, ever, ever be happy!" she yelled at him, pushing her hand at him. A yellow glow came out and forced him backwards, and furious, he scrambled to the floor. They circled each other, and Aurelia only had one option, and to do it fast. She crouched down, and sprinted towards him, her arms outstretched. She rugby tackled him straight into the portal, and they tumbled into the darkness.

She awoke, alone in the forest, and looked around. It was dusk, and she was hungry and cold. Peter, the men, Rumplestiltskin was nowhere to be seen. She walked, in any direction, desperate to find something, anything. But it was pointless. She just got more lost, and found a big tree to shade her, laid under it, shivering, and looked up at the night sky. Her stomach rumbled painfully, and she closed her eyes, shaking.

She was in a strange land, with no friends or safety around her. She hadn't eaten since the porridge nights before, and it was cold and dark and quite scary. Suddenly, she heard a sound. It sounded like someone speaking.

She stood up cautiously, and headed slowly towards the voice. She was light on her feet, slowly and carefully picking her steps to the sound. The moon broke out, and she saw a shining lake, and a beach. The sand was a pale white, and the lake looking black and shining, with the reflection of the moon. It was beautiful, but in the middle, something caught her eye. There was a figure in the lake, a man, with his back to her, singing.

She headed close to him to see if she could recognise or sense if he was dangerous. She tried to hear what he was singing, until the lyrics became clear in her mind.

"Yoho, yoho, a pirates life for me"

Pirate.

She gasped, scrambling backwards, but lost her footing on the sandy hill and fell down, screaming. She shut her mouth, clamping her lips down and in the process biting her lip so hard she tasted the metallic tang of iron blood. The singing had stopped. She leapt up, shaking herself down, and saw him- Killian- staring at her. He looked slightly confused, and then gave a cheeky smile.

"Well hello there. Fancy seeing you here, must be fate him? Fancy coming for a swim?" and he started wading closer to her.

She looked around. The hill was too steep to climb back, and forest surrounded the beautiful beach, meaning that she had basically no escape. She had to remain calm.

"No, thanks" Aurelia said, crossing her arms. She tried to keep her eyes off his flawless, toned chest. He came closer to the water, which got shallower and she soon got more of an eyeful than she was expecting.

"Oh! Erm.. hmp" she turned around, realising it was the most stupid thing she'd done, put her back to a pirate, but she felt awkward.

"Theres no point me asking why you're here, you won't answer me, will you?" she asked.

"No, love" he said.

She heard him putting some clothes on, then he brushed past her back, and she froze.

"What brings you here?" he murmured softly in her ear, and she was very, very aware he was still not wearing a top.

"You, actually" she said, shyly, turning to face him. He looked surprised, and placed on hand on her hip, the other on the space between her neck and shoulder.

"Me?"

He wiped a drop of blood from her lip with his thumb and she could hear her breathing become more erratic. She forced herself to snap out of it. He was only a man. And it was so cliché, to fall in love with the wrong person. She filled her thoughts with Peter, the blonde haired beautiful best friends that loved her and cared for her and was on the side of good. That was all blown out of her head when she looked at Killian.

"Yeah.. I just wanted to tell you… that.. well, you're, honestly, the worst pirate I've ever met" she said, coldly.

He leant away from her and she acted like she was relived of the lack of skin contact.

"Oh really?" he said, narrowing his eyes.

"Yeah. You failed to burn the castle down, you get lost all of the time, and you most certainly are not dashing or charming. Have you tried another profession? Carpentry maybe?" Aurelia was quite pleased with the light-hearted wit, and luckily he took it well.

"You're just lucky I'm okay about what happened the last time we met" he winced. "Good kick, by the way. But, I do believe that means you owe me something"

"Of course" she said "and just what might that be?""

"A dance" he said simply. "I can't stop thinking about our dance when we first met, and I'm terribly annoyed it had to be cut short. I want to be repayed"

"Is that so" Aurelia said dryly. "Well, if you don't mind, I've had rather a rough night… well, a rough year or two actually, so if we could take a raincheck on that, I'd be happy to make my way on now" she said.

"And what makes you think I'm going to let you go?" Killiian said, smiling.

She looked at him, biting her lip coyly.

"Because we're going to see that action on the basis that you are actually a good man, who's hiding behind the life of a criminal and murderer to protect himself but deep down he just wants somebody to love, and he wouldn't even dream of thinking of holding a girl against her will" she said, hoping she'd catch him off.

"You seem to be forgetting one little fact" he said, pulling her waist in closer.

"Hm?" she asked.

"Technically, I've kidnapped you once. Therefore, I can do it again. Sorry love" and he whistled. She paused, confused, then ten seconds later heard footsteps.

There were about ten, maybe more, of his men. They grabbed her, and she put up a fight. She punched the biggest one in attempt to scare some other off, but after a scuffle and some punches thrown, her hands were bond with some sort of scratchy vine. She gave a pleased smile seeing some of the damaged she'd done, several bruises and scratches on at least two of the men.

Even Hook raised his eyebrows as he watched from afar. "Take her back to base. I have some business to attend to" he said, walking off. He didn't look back as she was dragged off.

Her feet were cut, and she was tired and hungry even more so than before. Every half hour they stopped to rest and she was given a crust and half a cup of water. Sometimes, one of the kinder ones would slip her bit more, and she would give them a slight smile- not much, but it was a hint of a thank you. They were still kidnapping her, after all.

They took her to a place called 'Pirate Cove' where that damned ship was. She didn't know what worried her more- Killian disappearing for 'business' or when he would come back. Somehow, her thought was answered.

"I wouldn't worried about Hook" one of the men said. "H won't hurt yo- too terribly, at least. He's weak for a pretty face, and you sure as hell have got one of 'em"

"Hook? I thought the Captains name was Killian?" she said, confused

"Oh, it is- we call him Hook because of his hand, you see. It was taken by a crocodile, apparently. It was before I joined the rew, and I never got the courage to ask. Especially the captain"

"Why, is her violent" Aurelia asked, curiously.

"Oh yes" the pirate said earnestly "If he'd in a fight, he's brilliant with a sword, extremely talented, but it's an amazing to see the damage he can do with his hands- er, hand, that is. And the hook, of course, but it might be too brutal for a lady to hear"

"I'm not a lady" Aurelia said

"Woman then" the pirate insisted "But the men deserved it, of course. Captains always fair, you have to give him that"

"Do I now" Aurelia said sarcastically, as she was lead onto the ship. She was put into a room, the door locked. The vine scratched at her wrists. If they'd tied it with rope, it would've hurt less. It wasn't fair of them.

It wasn't fair.

It wasn't fair that she'd got taken. It wasn't fair she'd made a deal with a monster, and treated cruelly. It wasn't fair she was forced to serve two of the most evil people in the land. It wasn't fair she was torn away from her best friend, twice. It wasn't fair her aunt, and friends had died. It wasn't fair her home, her town had burned down and she had no where to go. It wasn't fair this pirate had kidnapped her.

It wasn't fair.

Suddenly, Aurelia had an outburst, like before, but smashed everything in the small cabin. She pounded on the walls with her bounded wrists, tearing them more, making them bleed uncontrollably. She pushed a vase off a little table, then kicked it over, again, splintering the wood into little pieces. She pulled a painting off the wall and put her foot throw it, and tore the bed sheets and the pillows, so feathers covered the entirety of the room. That's when she broke down.

She sat, in the middle of the room, sobbing uncontrollably. It felt like she hadn't cried in a million years, and she would never stop. She was surrounded by broken pieces of wood, and glass, and so many feathers, and she couldn't stop crying, her stupid, weak, fragile body feeling small and vulnerable as she hugged her knees, rocking back and forth. She didn't hear the door creak open slowly. She didn't feel the stare.

He didn't shout, or ask what she was doing.

He came and sat next to her, and put his arms round her. For that moment, she just oldn't scream or hurt him, she just needed someone to hold her, and he was there. So she let him. And she felt safer, better. She felt sick and guilty, this man started her troubles and the situation she was in now, and she was letting him comfort her, but in her logic, it was the least her could do. He stroked her hair as she cried softly, and soon, she fell asleep on his shoulder.

He picked her up, carrying her to another cabin, and placing her in the bed. He looked down at her young, innocent face and sighed. The dilemma. He wanted to keep her for his own selfish reasons, to hear her speak, to look at her.  
But she wasn't happy. She hadn't been in a long time, he could tell. He looked, seeing how thin, pale and delicate she looked. He put fruit next to where she slept on the bed, or her to wake up to, and a pitcher of water.

Hook frowned, and used his hook to tear off the ropes that bound her skin, and bandaged them, using his teeth to softly pull to rags around her wrists. Finally, he swept a red lock out of her face, and had to leave the room, before he did anything else.


	5. Pain

That night, there was a storm. The darkened sky had aggressive streaks of purple and grey across, and there were no stars to be seen. The ship was in the centre of Pirates cove, and was shaking, the very wooden bones of it were trembling against the breaking winds that beat against it. Rain poured down, soaking everything it touched. Men scrambled on the boards, doing various jobs in hurries, but it just looked like they were desperately pulling at random rope and sails in a pointless attempt to soothe the winds. Aurelia sat in her cabin, looking at the dark oaken wall as she swayed with the ship, and sighed. She regretted last night, she felt like she had given Killi- no, Hook, he was the ruthless Pirate, Hook- a piece of her soul by allowing him to hold her. She hated given up things easily, and she didn't want to owe him anything.

She found a change of clothes by the bedside table, a pair of light brown trousers, which made her cock of head curiously. There was then a white blouse, followed by a tight leather waist jacket. She pulled the items on, and enjoyed the freedom of being able to move without hindered. The black leather pushes her cleavage forward slightly, which made her tut, probably a deliberate action of Hook. The trousers clung to her curves, and unused to the change in her body, Aurelia sat down.

Maybe the new clothes, or the ability to cry finally had given her some kind of new hope. She wasn't dead, definitely not so. Hook was a man, and luckily, she could be quite cunning to the whims of men. She could fight- had basic sword training due to Peters influence when growing up, and she had determination. Her eyes felt manic and fiery and she stood, and walked to the door. Prepared to kick it down, she noticed that it was unlocked. She gave a little giggle at the foolishness. Well, there wasn't anywhere she could go other than the ship. She plaited her hair with quick, intricate twirls and pulled it up. She felt like one of the female warriors that she read about when she was little.

Peter never liked thoe stories. He preferred being the one to do all the saving. He liked Aurelia being dependent on him. She pushed this thought from her mind. That was just another problem she had to face later.

She headed out onto the deck, her eyes taking in all the busy confusion. A stong, male voice shouted out orders at everyone, and she looked to the top of the ship, seeing Hook standing, a figure of authority, his face looking furious, as if he would destroy nature for threatening his precious ship.

He saw her, his face passive, and jumped down, sliding down and a quick jog to get to her.

"I see you found your new clothes" he smirked, looking at her. Aurelia remained, back straight, head up, eyes meeting him.

"Well, whoever picked them obviously had bad taste, but they'll do" she said bitterly.

"I would beg to differ. And yes, they definitely will do" he said, and finally, his eye slid up to meet hers.

Suddenly, lightening lit up the sky, accompanied, of course, with the husband, the thunder which roared, echoing across the choppy black sea. Aurelia had a heart attack when she saw a faint glimmer of panic in Hooks eye, but it disappeared immediately, making Aurelia feel slightly less uneasy.

Suddenly, everything stopped. The sea froze, mid wave, the sounds of men shouting stopped, the growl of wind and rain ceased and the air grew still. Everyone had frozen, mid movement. Except Aurelia and Hook. They looked at each other, baffled, connected with their equal bewilderment.

"Sorry for interrupting" a high pitched voice sounded. Sitting on the top of the sails, was Rumplestiltskin. Aurelia was only vaguely aware of the slight movement Hook made- he moved a few inches in front of her, blocking the direct contact between the two. As Hook began to speak, Rumple pushed his hand forward, dark smoke enveloping round the Captain, holding him hostage in the air. He didn't look scared, only furious, his eye glaring at Rumplestiltskin.

"My fight" Rumple began, making his way down to the deck "If unfortunately not with you, Hook" he spat.

"Although, once realised it was in fact you that burned my castle down to the ground- it's fine, by the way-it was you that made unfortunate consequences arise. I was so furious with your actions, that I took it out upon my servant girl. Despite the- dare I say- fondness I had crated for this little creature, when she came to me, desperate, starving, dehydrated and well, to be frank, _dying, _I teased her with the thought of salvation. Then, I beat her. I treated her cruelly, locked up up like an animal. I'm a lonely man you see, my heart has gone black and cold. But still, despite my wrong doings, I never said I would treat her kindly. So, when she ran away from me" he glowered at Aurelia, and they both thought of the chipped cup, smashed to pieces. "I was understandably… upset. I promised I would punish you, my little creature. And that I shall"

Suddenly, ropes flew around Aurelia, making her immobile. She struggled, but they grew tighter and tighter, impossibly binding her, cutting off all blood circulation. She felt angry, undesribable anger.

"Ho ho, would you look at those eyes?" umple laughed, and Hook struggled against the smoke, almost as if he was trying to get to Aurelia. Curious, she thought. Maybe he wanted to kill her before Rumple did.

"Do it" she said, carelessly. "I honestly do not care. Everything has been torn away from me, because of you two. You've taken away my happiness, my home, my family, my friends. You've ripped away the very essence of my soul, my spirit, and I'm tired. I don't care anymore" she laughed, her chest unable to rise because of the ropes. The pair looked at her like she was completely deranged. Perhaps she was.

"Oh, dearie" Rumple tutted "I'm not going to make it easy. I'm not going to kill you- oh no. What a waste of beauty, wit, and elegance that would be. You say you're soulless now. Well, I'm going to make that permanent"

He pulled out a script

"Mermaids" he began "closely linked with sirens, are some of the most cruellest, dangerous creatures known to man. They lure sailors.. and pirates, to their deaths with their beauty. It is said their hearts are blacker than the deepest darkness of anything, ever"

With that, he pulled a bottle from his pocket. It was golden, and looked beautiful. He approached her, with a flick of his wrist her mouth snapped open. Her eyes darted from him to Hook, who actually looked… she didn't know what.

The potion was forced down her mouth, and she couldn't spit it out. It tasted like honey, the only positive thing. Unexpectedly, the roped snapped away, making her fall to the floor.

"Erm… so?" she said.

"Give it a few minutes" Rumple suggested.

Suddenly, Aurelia's spine cracked. They all heard it, and she couldn't gasp, but was silent, like a fish wriggling out of water. Her bones began to break and form into… into a monster. She creamed, the pain was indescribable. Worse than getting beaten, worse than fire. She pulled in breaths of air, but they only burned her lungs. Some kind of seaweed, green silk material had formed around her breasts, tightly, like a short corset, protecting her modesty from the mean watching as her clothes fell away. Everything felt like it was on fire, her muscles were screaming at her like they were being flayed, like someone had poured salt in an open wound. She couldn't stop screaming, a horrifying sound that ripped across the silent atmosphere. It make Rumplestiltskin silent, his giggling stop, and Hook shout out angrily.

She stared in utter horror as her smooth, pale skin grew green, and scales formed. Each one burned differently, and there was a brutal joining as her separate legs were merged into one, long, graceful tail.

Oh god. What had he done to her.

She wasn't human.

"Now, you will be able to breathe in air, but not too long, because it'll hurt. Then again, that was probably the worst pain any human being can have, so you might not mind too much. Now Captain. I'm going to release you. Dp not attack me, that's pointless. You don't have magic. I want you to carry our beautiful little mermaid to the sea, and send her home" he said, standing back, watching, as hook slowly walked over to Aurelia, who stared unseeing at the sea. She felt Hooks trembling hands stroke her arm, and then felt weightless as he picked her up. As he walked, he whispered in her ear.

"Aurelia"

She didn't respond.

"Aurelia, please, look at me"

She didn't move, she was scared it would hurt more. He put her in his good arm, and climbed down into the sea. He stood on the pale sand and began to wade out.

"You don't have to do that, just chuck her in there, it doesn't matter" they heard Rumples screech.

"Quiet, crocodile" he shouted, walking further into the sea.

He was up to his chest, she was bundled in him arms.

She looked up at him, searching his eyes for something. Whatever it was, she found it.

"I'm sorry" and murmured.

He let her go.

Equilibrium.


	6. Sea-life

It was a completely different world. Aurelia had been swimming before, but not like this. She felt connected to every rock, every grain of sand. It was he home, where she belonged now. She was scared, terrified. She wanted desperately to be brave and able to adapt easily and thankful for the new life, but this wasn't what she wanted. She wanted to be a human, with legs. She wanted to breathe in air, and get married, and bake and run and have children to have sword fights and to have friends and a family and a little house, maybe in a village like the one she'd grown up in.

There was no possibility of that now. Her long hair floated around her in the sapphire blue, and she flipped her tail uselessly. She felt an instinct of what to do, but kept finding herself trying to walk, ending up floating around in the water pointlessly. Schools of fish swam past her and she hid from them, behind rocks, trembling. She wasn't cold, or warm, but a balanced temperature. Her body felt good, like it was home. It was her mind that was troubled.

She sensed something behind her and turned, seeing another mermaid looking at curiously. Neither of the females moved.

Suddenly the mermaid swam up directly to Aurelia.

"Who are you?" She asked, her eyes blazing "Why are you here?"

"I'm … Au-relia" she tried to speak like she did in air, but couldn't form the words.

"Ariel?" the mermaid said "Nice name. Listen, I don't know how you found here, but I'm going to have to take you to our king and queen. We don't get many new mer people here, and all of them have to be questioned. Its all for the mers protection, of course. You should understand that" the gir-mermaid was pulling Aurelia along by the hand.

"I'm Nixie" the girl said. She had long, brunette hair, and a green tail, but it was more of a teal green compared to Aurelia's darker, mossy green one.

"Where do you come from" Nixie asked. Aurelia could barely form words.

"Is it nice where you live? What are your mer people like? Are there a lot of rules there? We have many rules here. We're not supposed to go near Pirate cover, but I saw the most handsome man, I think he was a pirate! How exciting, we have a statue of a pirate in the reassure collection. I might sing to him, maybe he'll fll in love with me" Nixie joked, making Aurelia's stomach twist with emotion. Jealously? No, of course not. She liked Nixie, she wanted to protect her from the evil pirates clutches, of course. Rumplestiltskin was wrong- mermaids were nice. Just shows what he knew.

Being led by someone made Aurelia feel like she had a new purpose.

The send sloped up, revealing a silver castle. Mermaids swum around it, carrying bundles of seaweed or sifting through sand with rake, just like in the human world. They all stared as Aurelia and Nixie went straight to the centre of the castle.

The main room had two giant thrones in, and a couple occupied them, lovingly holding hands.

"Well, well, well, who's this?" the man said. He had dark black hair, thick stern eyebrows and a massive beard. His tail was a bright gold that shone, similar to the crown on his head.

"A new mermaid!" The woman gasped. She had long silver hair and a silver tail, with a young, pretty unusual face. "Come to us, my little creature. What is your name?"

"Ariel- he names Ariel" Nixie said proudly "I found her by Pirate cove! She doesn't speak much"

"Perhaps she doesn't get a chance" The King said, frowning at Nixie. "You may go now dear, I believe coral needs you to help her with the cleaning treasure duty"

Nixie huffed, waved to Aurelia, then turned and swam away. Meanwhile, Aurelia had an inner debate. Lie, or tell the truth.

The mermaids treated her kindly, they couldn't be that bad. Unless they thought she was truly one of them.

"My name is Ariel" new name, new life. "I come from a far away lan- sea. We did not have a king or queen, but lived as equals. My home was destroyed, mer killed. I am now looking for a new home"

The queen clasped Aurelia's hand. "Then you have found the right one, sweetheart. You will remain in our palace, everyone will welcome you and show you our seas. Welcome, Ariel, the little mermaid" she smiled.

"We do have a few rules" the kind interrupted. "No trouble making. Of any kind. We will gladly welcome you, but we do not want our peace disrupted. Secondly, try not to go too near Pirate cove. The pirates there are cruel and may catch you, and if any of us go after to help rescue you, we may be caught too. Thirdly- and most importantly- there is a sea witch names Myrtle that lives fairly near to us. You won't stumble upon her, you have to be looking for her. By all means do not go near her, or make a deal with her. She is evil, and nothing good with come out of a bargain made with her" the king said, seriously. His brown eyes earnest.

"You can trust me" Aurelia said "I know too much about making deals than I want to"

"Well that's perfect. Now, I will call our son, Prince Kai, to escort you to your room" he whistled, a melodic tune coming out in bubbles.

A dophin -Aurelia had to double take- entered, with a young man riding on the back. She double-taked again, the merman was handsome. His face was young, and goodlooking, but he had the same stern expression as his father. His face lit up.

"Who're you?" he asked.

"Her name is Ariel. She is to take one of the guest bedrooms- one of our finest" the queen said "You've been through a lot, my dear, now rest and you can join us for dinner tonight"

Aurelia thought bitterly that the queen had no idea what she'd been through, then felt bad after the kindness being shown to her. Then she wondered what Mer people ate. Obviously not fish, that would probably be considered cannibalism. Plants maybe? Aurelia never liked vegetables, and sighed.

There was an uncomfortably silence as the two mer swam through the castle. Aurelia decided to break it.

"So… whats neverland like?" she asked. Kai turned to her, his face enthusiastic.

"Oh, it's brilliant. You'll love it!" He gushed "There's pirate cove, which is always fun to swim around- being careful, of course. There's hangmans tree, and crocodile creek, which we can swim up to. And there there's the Indian camp, and tiger lilly" he looked down blushing. Aurelia detected a new romance blossoming.

"Oh really?" she said, with a slight smirk, making Kai cringe even more.

"You're going to love it Ariel!" he said, then they came to a room. "Well, I have to be off, help build and all that. Have a nice day!" he smiled and swam off so quickly it was just a blur of water.

Aurelia walked into the room. IT was all blue, green and purple tones, with a sandy floor. There was a window where the sea floated in and out, a ray of sunlight from the surface of the water shining down. There was a beautiful mirror and a vanity desk, made of a smooth marble material, and beautiful golden combs embedded with diamonds and pearls. Aurelia felt like royalty. There was no bed, just a large rock but when she laid down upon it, she was surprised to find the green moss covering it was incredibly soft and comfortable.

Aurelia laid her head down- just for a second- and fell straight asleep.

The next two weeks were fine. Aurelia- now Ariel- had met many new mer people, had joined in their community. She had become particularly good friends with Kai – whenever he was around- and Nixie, who's bright and bubbly personality comforted Aurelia. The food they ate was fine, mostly plant food as she suspected, and fruits that she didn't mind. Often she went to the surface but didn't stay for long, pining for home.

Aurelia was in her room, sleeping, when she was awoken by shouts and yelling. She swam quickly to outside the castle, where about 50 mer were gathered, looking up at the surface of the sea. There was a ship, and it seemed to be on fire.

Aurelia looked around, and no one was helping.

"Why is no one doing anything?" she asked Nixie, angrily. "People might need our help up there"

Nixie grabbed her arm, pulling her away from people "What on earth are you talking about? We can't help them, Ariel, they're humans. They shouldn't be on our seas anyway" she said, flipping her hair back.

"Then why is everyone waiting?" Aurelia asked.

"For the shipwreck. One it sinks, and we check all the men are dead, depending on its condition we keep it intact or break it up and hand out everything inside. Ooh, I do hope we get some more cutlery, that'd be nice" she said gleefully. Aurelia stared in horror.

There were people dying up there. Her people. She was human, not mermaid, despite the weeks of building a life here, and adapting to the new lifestyle.

She swam up to the queen, who looked impassive.

"Your majesty, I'm sorry" she said "I understand that this is your land and sea and I have no right to interfere, but where I come from, we don't let people- or creatures die, no matter what they are. SO I have to help" she said. The queen looked into her face, hard.

"I completely agree" she said. "alright. You may go- I will send Kai and Varro to go with you. Be careful" and she turned and went inside, the other mer following, still staring at the ship, waiting for it to fall. Aurelia began to swim higher, the water getting warmer and warmer until she broke the surface, where the fire inches away from her scorched her face.

She saw a man face down, and turned him over. It was one of the pirates. He spluttered and coughed. She swam, holding hid hand and tugging him along. Because he was fairly heavy, it took long time, until Kai and varro joined her, helping her.

They all worked together, grunting with exhaustation as they hauled countless bodies.

Aurelia turned another man over, and gasped. It was Hook. He wasn't breathing.

"Killian?" she asked, her voice sounding small. She shook him. His lips were blue, and his eyelids were closed, looking peaceful.

"KAI, VARRO, HELP" she called, and the three dragged him to the beach. She clambered awkwardly next to him, her tail barely in the water.

"Ariel, no!" Kai gasped "Look at his hand- it's a hook. He's the pirate- the bad one. Don't save him, he doesn't deserve it"

"No, I know him" Aurelia insisted "I'm not going to let him die, whatever he's done"

"I cannot stand by this" Varro said "I appreciate you want to save these… humans, Ariel, but this man will bring nothing but trouble. His ships crash into our waters, he always has plans and schemes to use and manipulate us. I must go" he patted Aurelia on the back.

"Ariel… I should go too. I want to check Tiger Lily and her family are okay" kai said.

"Its fine, just go" Aurelia snapped, fussing over the captain. Suddenly, she was alone, the bodies of pirates unconcscious, some alive, some dead, around her. But she only care about one.

She pumped down on his chest repeatedly, until she was out of breath.

"Come on, Killian. Come back to me, come on. You can do it"

She leant in, pressing her lips to his, pushing air into his mouth and lungs.

"Killian, don't you dare leave me" she said, angrily. A hot, angry tear rolled down her cheek, as she pressed her lips to his once more, feeling him breath in.

Suddenly, he was breathing, his hand flying out and grabbing her shoulder.

Then he kissed her. His mouth was soft, and gentle, softly working her lips as she leaned further down to him.

Sense came to her in a rush and she pulled away, flushed.

"Nice to see you" hook said.

"You insufferable crook!" she shouted "I save you- risking my own life- and you… you- well"

"I what?" hook asked with raised eyebrows, leaning on his elbows.

"Take advantage, you know you did" Aurelia frowned at him, making him smile. Suddenly, his face drained, a horror expression pon his face.

"Oh God, I just remembered- you're not you! Well, you are, it's just you're a… a" he looked down, his face shocked at her tail.

"A mermaid? Well, yeah. Considering you were there, and all. Or maybe you were too self absorbed in your own problems to think about mine" she said bitterly.

"Oh don't be like that Aurelia. And we were getting on so well earlier" he gave a lazy smile.

"I have to go" Aurelia said "You're welcome. Oh, and you owe me. Big time" she said, and ignoring his protests, she flipped back into the sea, swimming back.


	7. Mission

As Aurelia went lower, she noticed mer picking at the contents of the ship. She swam past them, ignoring them, and went to her room.

She laid down on the soft moss of her new bed, sighing. She felt like she was crying, but being in the water, she couldn't tell.

She was so tired of it. At first, it was brilliant and scary but she'd never lived like this before. She wanted to be in the air more than anything, not to have a constast body of water around her at all times. Sometimes, when she just woke up, she panicked, feeling the water in her system. Then she remembered. She wanted her legs back, the soft, smooth skin connected to the backs of her knees and their ticklish ways, the curve of her ankle and feet. She heard a knock, and sat up, her tail curling round the rock to hold her there.

"Come in" she said. It was the king.

She pushed up immediately, making the water swirl around her.

"Your majesty" she exclaimed in surprise.

The King looked uncomfortable, then shook it off and stepped inside.

"You may sit" he said, and they both sat down. He adjusted the crown on his head.

"Now, I need to talk, so listen. I am aware of your story, and I must admit I didn't trust you. So I sent scouts in the direction of your land, and there was nothing to be seen. Ever other mer cove remotely in the area has no idea who you are, and paired with your… inexperience with our mer ways, and your passion for the humans, I can only assume tha you are not full mer" he said, looking at her with his stern eyebrows and strong jaw.

She was vaguely reminded of a girl she had known, a long time ago. Fr- something with an f. Freya? No, that wasn't right. Freda. It had been a long time since she had seen her childhood enemy. Perhaps she had changed.

She had pressing matters to return to.

"You're right. I'm human" she said "My name is Aurelia. I was cursed, to become a mer, due to a broken deal, and doomed to spend the rest of my life under the sea" she paused "I'm sorry I lied to all of you. I've grown to love this place, and the people. Kai, and Nixie, even varro I enjoy spending time with. It's been a long time since I've been surrounded by friends" she said.

"very well" the King said. "But we do not allow humans to stay" making Aurelia's face fall.

"However, considering that you have learned our ways, you are- now, at least- mer, and to be honest many of my people have grown to like you- I will allow you to stay. I will not tell anyone. The conditions are simple- you may not contact any human again. I would prefer you to stay under the divide between the lands, and be assured- I will watch you. I believe that's fair" he said, and she nodded, looking in his eyes.

"Thank you, your majesty"

They shook hands, and Aurelia felt a bond between them, human and mer. Then he left, and she was left with her thoughts.

She had been accepted, finally. If the king was okay with it, even if the others find out, she was positive they would handle it well- with time at least. But the conditions. She couldn't leave Peter, he would probably go crazy if she didn't find him soon. She had to find him. That was the only plan. No matter what happened, she'd find him and Peter would sort her problems.

She was saddened greatly to leave her new home behind, but it was the only option for the long term future. The only problem was how to get out.

Aurelia spent the night tossing and turning, until she had a dream. It was twisted, thorns and blackness everywhere, like ink spilled into clear water. A face, beautiful with twisted and ruined with evil smiled at her, and suddenly, she knew what to do.

The next day, Aurelia's plan was complete. She finished her chores and went back to have dinner with her friends. After being fairly quiet because of the guilt she felt, she went to bed early. She grabbed a cloak from one of the pegs lining the outside castle walls, and swam off into the night. She bit her lip nervous, as she slipped out, avoiding the guards.

She heard something behind her, a whispereing every now and then, and suddenly, she turned.

Two black figures remained behind her, and she startled, until they came into view.

"Nixie? Kai?" she sighed with relief, trying to calm her fast beating heart.

"Ariel, where are you going? What are you doing?" nixie said, panicked.

"Keep your voice down" kai said to her "the guards are still close. Ariel, we went to your room, we thought something was wrong. What'ds going on?"

They both looked at her in earnest, and she felt guilty for lying to her friends. Then she remembered, they weren't her true friends unless they knew the truth. So she told them.

"Okay, but if my father said it was fine, why are you leaving?" kai asked, puzzled.

"I need to be human again. I don't belong here" Aurelia said "So I've gone to find the one person that can help"

Nixie looked confused, while Kai gasped, his face white as a ghost.

"No! you can't" he said.

"What?!" nixie said, her voice high.

"She's ging to the sea witch, Myrtle" kai said "Ariel- Aurelia, I mean- you can't. I'm being deadly serious. She will destroy you, turn you into something twisted and monotrous. You don't understand the evil within her, they told us children stories to stop us wandering off at night" he shudder, while Nixie remained silent, her eyes wide in horror, unable to speak.

"I won't allow you to go" kai said, straightening back "Even if I have to drag you back" he said "No one deserves the punishment from HER"

"Kai, let go of me" Aurelia said softly. "Remember, people often exaggerate. This is something I have to do, and I'll be careful. I've made a deal before, and I've got out of it. I'll be fine"

"We can find another way" Nixie said quietly "Or you could stay with us. We'll love you all the same, it doesn't matter. Forget your old life Aurelia, this isn't the way"

"Yes it is" Aurelia said, holding Nixie tight in her arms in a maternal act of comfort.

"We'll go with you" Kai said.

"NO. If it is as dangerous as you say, it won't matter if you go with me, you'll both just get hurt too"

"Try and get rid of us" Nixie said, jaw set, resolute.

Kai nodded, both of them next to her.

Aurelia sighed. "Fine. If you're that insistent. But if anything happens, you two leave straight away, with or without me. I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to you two"

They began the journey into the dark cold waters, and after half an hour of swimming, Nixie asked.

"Um… So does anybody know where we're actually going?"

"Nope" Aurelia said "Apparently if you go looking for it, you'll find it eventually"

They spent the next ten minutes silently, then when they started chatting, laughing and joking, they saw it.

It was a large cave, covered with black thorns twisting and turning violently, threatening to grip at clothes and skin, tearing cloth and flesh alike.

"You two wait here" Aurelia said, ignoring their protests, ooking at them harshly. She hugged them and swam inside.

It was pitch black, and Aurelia shook as she placed a hand in front of her, unable to see anything. She felt a cut on her hand from a thorn, and at the sight and scent of blood, lights went up.

It was like a warped, bloody version of a doorbell.

"Welcome, welcome!" a voice said brightly. "I am Myrtle, the great and powerful sea witch. Come, into the light. Lt me see this face of yours" she hissed. The sea witch was fairly pretty, with masses of curly black hair. One of her eyes was completely white.

"You've noticed my eye" she said, less enthusiastically "It gives me another sight. Into the future. I could see you coming, Aurelia. I know why you're here" she said, coming closer.

"Oh really?" Aurelia said sarcastically, then bit her tongue. It wouldn't do to anger the witch.

"You can smell it in your blood" she said, grabbing Aurelia's arm with her sharp black nails, digging in, and pressing her nose to it, breathing in her scent.

"Sweet, not salty like mer! You, my love, are definitely human. And what a beautiful one! I'm not surprised you easily passed as a mer"

"Well that's great" Aurelia said "But that's my problem. I'm sure you can guess why I'm here"

"Don't treat me a fool" the sea witch roared "I know. Now I can help you, but I do have… conditions" she said, fleeing to a wall covered with old shelves, holding thousands of bottles, jars, and containers. They all contained potions and objects and weird parts of things, and Aurelia tried to avoid looking at them. She notice a lizards tail slowly bobbing up and down in what seemed like orange jelly, and part of a tongue surrounded by grey liquid. She glance away, and saw the witch frantically writing on a yellowed piece of parchment.

"So, what are your conditions?" Aurelia asked, her voice firm. Show no fear.

"I will turn you back into a human, on the conditions that in three days, you must find your true love and kiss him. If you don't, you will be dragged back here, and you will be my slave. And I'll kill you shortly after. It's just my thing" she shrugged.

"But I don't have a true love" Aurelia said "Even if I did, he might not be in this land"

"Well, that's your problem dear" Myrtle said, smirking "And it'll just prove that I'm right, that love doesn't equal to power, ever. So, take it or leave it? If you refuse, I will kill you and your friends out there"

"Doesn't look like I have a choice then" Aurelia sighed, tired. "Fine. Where do I sign?"

She flourished her name, and the witch gave her a little potion, again gold. Aurelia looked at it warily.

"Don't worry, it won't be nearly as painful as the first process" the witch said "Luckily for you. A little bit of advice- take it when your near air, otherwise you might drown and that'd be a horrid waste"

"Gee, thanks" Aurelia said. "Well, hopefully I'll never see you again" and began swimming out of the cave, clutching the bottle tightly.

"Mm, see you in three days dear" the witch said absent-mindedly, putting the signed parchment along with her collection of thousands.

Aurelia swam back out to her friends, who looked relieved, hugging her tightly. They began to swim to the surface as she explained the conditions.

"I don't care if you have to kiss every man you meet, Aurelia, you better survive r I will come and rescue you" Kai said. "I'll ask Tiger Lily for ideas in case you don't find your true love" he said, a worried frown etched on his forehead.

"Of course she'll find him" Nixie says, smiling, which made Aurelia feel more confident "Everyone always does. And good always wins. Is just how the world works"

"It's just a matter of time. Three days" Aurelia said.

"well, we'll do what we can down here to make your journey easier" Nixie said. They broke the surface and Aurelia pulled her torso onto the rock, her tail feeling dryer already. She pulled out the cork and downed the bottle within seconds, without time to think.

It was still slightly painful, the ripping feeling of her tail into two legs, but not as bad as before, not by half.

She stood, wavering uncomfortable. Oh. She was naked. Kai turned away quickly, and she shouted out "BYE" before running into the forest.

She stood there, awkwardly, feeling vulnerable. What to do now.


	8. War

Aurelia found herself, yet again, alone. It was becoming more and more common recently and she was growing tired of it. All she wanted was to be at home surrounded by everyone she loved, not being a slave, or a mermaid, or butt-naked traipsing through a forest trying to find the love of her life. Maybe she would find him soon. Or not. The day was almost over, she only had two left.

Hours later she laid in a tree, shivering and crying. She'd been crying lot recently. Suddenly, she heard voices.

"Yes, we'd better get back to base" a low voice was saying "He's waiting for us, and apparently there's been news"

"News about what?" Another male voice said.

"Not sure, something about mermaid lagoon. Something's happened down there, not sure what, and he thinks it might be something to do with the girl"

"The girl? She's probably dead by now, or maybe Hook has her"

"Wouldn't he offer Peter a trade though? He knows how desperately Peter's been looking for her"

"Well, Peters our leader now, and it's his instructions to keep an eye out. And for Gods sake, don't mention anything to him that might set him off. We want him in good spirits for the feast tonight. Now lets head back" the voice was accompanied by the crunch f leaves as they began to walk away. Making an rather unwise, rash decision, Aurelia pushed her thin, aching body out of the tree, letting out a scream.

"My God, it's a girl" two faces hovered over her, dark in comparison to the blue sky.

"She's naked" the other one stated, and Aurelia wished she could roll her eyes.

"Can you please think about other things right now? It's her, Peter's girl, I think. We'd better take her back, she looks like hell"

Gee, thanks, Aurelia thought drying. She felt a long shirt being pulled over her, thankfully it covered all the necessary areas and she felt some small shrew of dignity claw its way back. She was hoisted into someone's arms, and felt the rhythmic bounce of the man walking with a long, purposeful stride.

The next hours- or minutes, Aurelia wasn't quite sure- were a blur of motion. Lot's of voices some calm, some shouting.

"Came out of nowhere"

"No clothes"

"Hook?"

"Kidnapped"

"No idea"

"Peter"

"Where is she? Bring her here" a voice commanded. "Aurelia, open your eyes. Look at me"

She did, and saw Peters stern face. She was transferred to his arms, and he held her too tightly, it hurt and she couldn't breathe.

"God, you look so skinny, you're all bones. What happened to you? Was it Hook? We'll find him, I'll kill him, I swear"

She was taken to bed and laid down. Finally, she was safe. Maybe Peter was her true love. Maybe she would kiss him when she woke up. After she'd have a nice sleep…

Barely an hour later, a battle broke out. Aurelia leapt out of bed of the smell of fire and smoke, the sounds of screaming and shouting outside. She ran outside, and saw Peters men fighting the pirates. Without hesitation she joined the fight, throwing punches left, right an centre. Picking p a sword she put it to good use, not killing the pirates, just injuring them enough not to hurt people. Suddenly, her throat was grabbed from behind.

"Look, Captain!" a voice bellowed. Aurelia met the eyes of Hook, who was fighting three men. He brought them down immediately, storming over.

"What a stroke of luck" he said, his eyes looking up and down. "Well, look at you" he said "And your lovely legs. I'm sorry about this darling, but I think you should come with us"

Suddenly, the guy holding her brought down his sword on her head, an she vaguely heard Hook shouting

"You fool, don't hurt her!" before she was knocked unconscious.

Aurelia sat up, rigid. She took in details to help her brain function. Forest. She was next to a campfire, her hands were chained, and there was no one around. She didn't even know if it was the same day. Oh God. What if two days had passed and she had no idea?

She let out a great scream that ripped apart the silence, and sobbed, her body heaving with emotion.

"Woah, calm down, calm down" Hook said, appearing from the trees "Christ, you'll probably be heard at the indian camp"

"You don't understand" Aurelia choked "I'm going to die"

"What? Of course you're not. I only took you for leverage against Peter, I'm not going to harm you. Sorry about the bump on the head- wasn't entirely my fault?"

"No, not you" Aurelia snapped "The sea witch"

"Myrtle?" Hook asked, his face drawn. "Wait- wait a second- did you make a deal with her? Aurelia, tell me. Oh God. That's how you got your legs back. What was the price?"

Aurelia sobbed, and Hooks warm hand on her back with slow, rubbing motions was helping. She breathed, calming down a bit.

"She said if I don't find my true love and kiss him within three days, I'd be dragged back to her, and then after a little while, she'll kill me" Aurelia said. "That's why I tried to find Peter… But now.. It might be too late"

"Peter? You think Peters your true love?" Hook laughed, and she glared at him. "okay, okay, I get it. Don't worry, we still have two more days" she aid thoughtfully, and she looked at him with teary eyes.

"We?"

"Well, yeah" he shifted, looking uncomfortable "Maybe I want to be good like Peter. I don't want to be the bad guy all the time, you know. And we've been through so much together, the least I can do is try to help you"

"Thanks" Aurelia said.

"So, we'll start of with a few hours sleep, then breakfast and we can discuss what to do then" Hook said.

"Sounds good to me" Aurelia gave a little smile, and as they laid down, Aurelia heard his breathing become slower. The fire began to died down, and though she would never admit it, she drew in closer to him, cuddling in.

When the morning arrived Hook explained the war. Both sides thought the other had Aurelia, and with other troubles such as land and male pride, they had begun to fight. The plan of action was that Hook would take Aurelia back to Peter, where she would kiss him, and in turn, he would be pardoned, and there would be a truce.

They set out, walking at a brisk pace, and talking about their lives. Hook was a great story telling, and Aurelia watched as he spoke, animatedly, about his fights and bets, his eyes lit up, swinging an imaginary sword and leaping from logs as he demonstrated. In turn, Aurelia spoke calmly about her village, and then her time with Rumplestiltskin, learning about magic, and the queen. She spoke about her time in Neverland, the friends she had made in the mer castle, until Aurelia looked at the sun setting, a worried look on her face.

"Don't worry" Hook said "I promise- I give you my word- that you'll be fine. Even if I have to swim down to that bloody sea witches cave to get you, I will. I never break my word" he said, his face earnest, and Aurelia nodded. They continued walking throughout the night, until they came to what was apparently the base of where Peter lived, as the leader of 'the lost boys'.

When Hook shouted out, men came from everywhere. Peter strode forward, and Hook was gagged, his hands tied. Aurelia was released, and trie to protest, but was carried away, only seeing a bag be put on Aurelia's head.

She was forced into a bed, and was dressed in breeches and a shirt again, and forced to drink a bitter type of tea which made her cough, splutter and feel dizzy.

"This will put you to sleep" Peter said

"No… can't sleep… have to tell you… only have one day" Aurelia said, gasping.

"It's all fine, don't worry Aurelia, you are safe"

"There's no time" Aurelia said "Hook… innocent. Trying to help me"

Peter frowned. "He's obviously threatened you, or brainwashed you. Never mind. Tomorrow night he will be beheaded, and we can go home. Or stay here, whatever" Peter kept chatting away as Aurelia violently tried to escape.

She couldn't let hook die. She needed to be saved so she could save him.

"Kiss me" she said, her voice full of desperation. Peter looked at her curiously, and bent down.

He kissed her. It was fine, pleasant, but even in her drugged state it felt wrong. Aurelia broke it off. Nothing had changed. She kissed him, for good measure, but she knew this wasn't her true love kiss. It wasn't Peter.

Then who was it?

Aurelia felt Peter pull the covers up and leave her as she drifted unwillingly off to sleep, full of dark nightmares.

When she woke up, the sun was streaming in through the west window. Good. She still had time. She got up, hurridly brushing her teeth in the little makeshift bathroom, braiding her hair and getting dressed- finding underwear, more breeches, shirts and waist jackets that she donned.

She ate an apple and drank a pitcher of water hurriedly, running outside.

There were boys milling around, and she noticed a large crowd at the top of the hill. All the pirates were bound by ropes around a large tree. She looked, but couldn't see Hook anywhere. At the bottom of the hill the sea pooled round.

She looked for Peter. She had to save Hook first, that was her priority. Finding true loves kiss would have to wait till later. The sun began sinking, the sky a blue streaked with pink and purple. It was beautiful. At the very top of the hill was a tree trunk that had been chopped into a block.

Peter was standing there, with green trousers and no top on. He had red war streaks across his cheeks.

The crowd grew bigger. The indian tribe were led by a beautiful woman- Tiger Lily, Aurelia presumed, and stood to watch. Mer gathered at he sea edge, and Aurelia saw familiar faces.

"The day has come" he began "For all this war and destruction to end. I am the leader of the lost boys, and I am taking action"

A roar emerged from the lsost boys.

"You are ending it with deth?" A man from the indian camp said. He had a large, yellow robe on with tribal markings, and an old, weathered face. "I do not believe this is good, Peter"

"It is the only way" Peter said, his face hard. "Death and bloodshed is necessary to show people who this land belongs to you?"

"Oh, and is that you, I suppose?" one mer said. It was varro. "Neverland belongs to all of us. And the pirates have proved themselves worthy to live here"

"That is fair and true, but this is our battle" Peter said, pointing to the lost boys.

"But it is not ours" Varro said "We will stay and watch, but know that we do not agree with what you are doing, Peter"

"Since when have mer meddled with humans" the old man said.

"A gir- a woman. Changed some of our thoughts. But she is lost to us. I thought she might be here. Her name- we know it as Ariel- you may know her as Aurelia"

A few gasps, Peters face narrowing.

"She is not here. This ceremony is to the the pirates life, not reunite with old friends" he held his hand up. He looked different, colder.

"ENOUGH. Bring the pirate out. I am going to end this now"

They brought Hook out, with his hands tied with rope, beaten and bruised. He still had a lazy smile.

"All of you turned up, just for me?" he said "I'm grateful"

"Silence" peter said, petulantly.

They forced Hook onto his knees, and he put his head on the block.

"I don't care if you kill me- but Aurelia- she only has one day, you MUST save her"

"She is not your concern" Peter hissed.

"Save her?" Varro asked. He was joined with Nixie and kai.

Aurelia stood, frozen. She couldn't move. She was scared.

She forced herself to pull herself together, but couldn't.

She looked at Hook. He still looked handsome, despite being kidnapped and tortured. And he cared about her. He didn't care about his own death, but wanted to stick to his promise to help her.

Suddenly, everything changed. The world seemed to shift into place, an epiphany hit Aurelia.

It was him. She was in love with Killian Jones. The pirate Hook had stolen her heart. She was so amazed by this revelation that she didn't notice Peter raise his sword above Hook's head.

She looked up, and began running, pushing people out of her way. When she was within feet of them she screamed out "NO!" and leapt, flying in-between Peter and Hook, falling in front of him, shielding him with her body.

"Aurelia?" Peter asked.

"You can't do this" she said fiercely.

"Get out of the way. You have no idea what you're doing, Aurelia"

The sun sunk a little bit lower, her time running out fast.

"Darling, I think it's best if you just let this happen" Hook said. She turned, placing her hands on his face.

"I'm not going to let you die. I love you" she said, looking straight into his eyes.

"WHAT?" Peter roared, pushing her to the side.

Kai yelled, and Tiger lily ran, taking Peter out.

Mer were throwing spears from the water and a pirate had been set free, letting the other lose, and war breaking out.

"STOP" Aurelia roared, with all her heart, and lungs, and soul.

Everyone stopped.

"You need to stop fighting. You're right, bloodshed will not solve anything. You need to learn to live in peace with each other in Neverland. Peter, you can't kill Hook. I've known you for many years now, and I know there is still good in you. Pirates- I understand that it's in your nature to rebel and fight, but not at the cost of losing your own men. Mer people" she looked at them "I love you all. I'm sorry I had to lie, but there was no other way. You showed me a different world, and I hope I've opened your eyes to the good natures of humanity. But this cannot go on. I've been through a lot, and I'm tired, and I refuse to fight any longer"

A clap started, from Hook, then the mer, then the indian camp, and the pirates, and finally, the lost boys. There was cheering, and then the sun went down.

Aurelia felt a sharp pain, like someone had grabbed her heart and yanked it out. She fell on her knees.

"Aurelia?" Hook ran to her, grabbing as she gave a scream of pain. Everyone was silent.

"Its too late. I'm going to die- she's coming for me" Aurelia whispered.

"no, no, no, I'm not going to let that happen. Aurelia, please, don't leave me, I love you" he whispered, his face so innocent and vulnerable that Aurelia gave a half smile.

He bent down, pressing his lips to hers, and kissed her, softly and gently with an underlying passion and desperation that almost frightened her. They clung to each other, then parted.

"AURELIA" came a shrill yell.

It was her. Myrtle was back.

Everybody screamed.


	9. Death

"Settle down children, I have a story to tell you" Myrtle began.

Hook held Aurelia tightly as she shook. "Don't worry" he murmured "I'm not going to let anything happen to you"

"As some of you may not know, our dear little creature here swam down to my home, and made a deal with me. She was a mermaid, at the time you see- another long story- was turned once again human. She then had three days to find her true love and kiss him, or she would be dragged back into the dark depths of the sea as my slave"

"And she has found her true love" Kai shouted.

Shouts of agreement.

"And she has kissed him" Nixie added.

"The sun had almost set" the sea wtich hissed.

"You've lost" peter said "Now leave, or we will all fight you"

"You're not getting her" Hook added, still holding the girl in him strong arms.

Myrtle gave a long, dark chuckle.

"You pathetic beings, you think you can stop me? I'm taking her, and there is nothing you can do about it"

Out of nowhere, a flying spear had pierced the sea witches shoulder, black blood spilling out.

"WHO DARES THE TRY AND WOUND ME?" she screamed, spit flying out from her mouth, her eyebrows rose high and her face drawn.

Tiger lily stood forward.

"That was a warning" she said, quite calmly "Leave us all in peace"

The sea witch raised her hand, pushing it in a rapid movement. Tiger Lily went flying down, and Kai flung his body at Myrtle.

Nixie joined him, and as Myrtle flicked them back, other mer joined, surging like a great wave in a valiant attempt to sway the witch.

She used her power to snatch Aurelia off the ground, and Hook held onto Aurelia's hand, but she was pulled from his grasp. Hook ran at Myrtle, along with Peter, the pirates and the lost boys. The numbers combined with the magic of the witch created a massive battle.

"I'm tired off this" Myrtle panted, sweeping across against the Indians who were raging at her with spears and daggers. She grabbed one, and created a space bubble between herself and the others. They could not penetrate it. She had Aurelia's arm, and Aurelia ducked, swinging a leg to kick the bitch in her face. The foot connected with her cheekbone with a satisfying crack, but she was rewarded with s slap bringing her to the ground. She rolled up, punching the witch in the stomach, then grabbing her hand and mashed her knee into Myrtles face.

The fight continued between the women, until Myrtle screamed as Aurelia cracked her nose, and stabbed her, between her ribs, with a dagger. The dagger slipped in easily, quietly, and there was silence as Aurelia gasped, and fell to her knees, looking up at the triumphant looking sea witch.

She let out a whimper and some weird breathing noises as she pulled the dagger out, feeling the warm deep red blood spill over her clothes.

Hook let out a roar, running at the bubble, and he broke through it. Maybe it was his anger, or love for Aurelia, but his sword easily reached Myrtles heart… if there was one.

She screamed, a monstrous, horrible noise and broke apart into a million tiny black pieces that dissolved into nothing.

Hook ran to Aurelia, holding her.

"Fancy seeing you here" she said, delirious "I have a strong sense of déjà vu"

"Come on, I'm taking you to get help" Hook said, his face worried, a little frown on his forehead. He picked her up, and started carrying her.

He carried her back to the lost boys cave, and laid her down on a bed. One of the women from the indian cabin studied the wound, and soon, the work began. Over the next few days people came in and out of the room, bringing ingredients and grinding plants for some sort of potion. Someone brought incense, and the small dull room was often stuffy and smelling of cinnamon.

Aurelia was fed by the woman, washed by them, her hair was brushed, and although she tried her hardest to appreciate this loving action from her friends, the pain hurt and she could feel herself slipping away, a little piece gone every day.

She was completely delirious, not knowing what was real or fantasy, memories weaving in with present actions. She saw Peter- but he was split in two halves- one, the childhood peter she had known and loved, and the other, elder warrior who had responsibilities as a leader.

Hook was almost always by her side, holding her hand, stroking her face, with a soft kiss or reassuring word when she needed it.

One night, when it was just the pair of them in the room, she had a particularly bad fever, and she gripped his hand.

"Killian"

"Yes, what's wrong? Need anything?"

"I need to talk to you… tell you"

"No" he said, his face stern "Don't say your goodbyes. You're not going to die. I won't allow it"

"you can protect me from death" Aurelia gave a soft laugh. "I'm sorry, if I've ever done you wrong. I always knew you were a good man, and you are. If I die, you need to promise me you will continue to love the way you do now. Don't be angry, don't kill needlessly, just… be happy" she gave a cough. "And remember… I will always love you"

"I love you" he said, a tear sliding down from his beautiful blue eye. "Please don't leave me, Aurelia, please"

Aurelia had stopped breathing, and her heart had slowed down, finally stopping. Slowly, she grew colder and paler.

They found them, hours later. Hook was inconsolable, holding his dead loves hand.


	10. Goodbye

It is a well-known fact that mermaids are immortal. What Hook, peter, and the rest of the inhabitants of Neverland didn't know, is that Aurelia was now immortal.

"We need to stop fighting. For her"

"I agree. She would've wanted that"

Peter and Hook sat, opposite ends of the table.

"I'm leaving" hook said. "Even if we promise to stop fighting, I don't want to risk it. And I can't stay here… Not after what's happened"

"That's fair enough" Peter said. There was a silence stretching out between the men, linked in their misery.

"What are we going to do without her?" Peter said.

"I don't know" Hook said, looking away angrily as he blinked away a tear.

"You will stay for the funeral, of course" peter said.

"Yes. Then I will take my ship and leave" Hooks voice was monotone, his eyes blank. His face was pale and he looked awful, not being able to sleep or eat much since the morning when Aurelia died.

"And what of your men?" Peter asked, suspiciously.

"I set them free. Some are still remaining loyal, and will return to me later, but right now I need to leave. To not be me for a little while. It hurts too much"

"I'm sorry" Peter said "I wish we could've avoided this"

"Me too. I've never loved anyone as much as I love her, you know"

"Well, she's a special girl" peter said. "God, you should've seen her when she was a child. Always dreaming of adventure and danger and princes. The amount of times she'd get me into trouble was ridiculous. Despite that, my parents loved her. Such a sweet girl…"

"I have to go" Hook said. "I'm sorry, but I need to be alone right now. I'll leave after the funeral tomorrow; Tiger lily is taking care of it. Good night"

"Good night, Killian." The first time Peter had called the pirate by his real name, and the two formed a small friendship.

Hook wandered around that night. He couldn't go near the room that she was in. If he did, he would be too tempted to pull out his dagger and stab it in his heart. Maybe it would be better to join her.

No. He'd fight on. He'd find Rumplestiltskin or some other magic man, who could find a way to bring her back. And if he couldn't, then he would dedicate his life to being good, or as good as he could be.

That night, everyone gathered to the beach. The pale white sands were lit with torches, and lines formed. Some of the pirates and Peters men had built a raft, and the mermaids had helped by weaving beautiful flowers in it. Aurelia lay, beautiful, in the middle. She was dressed in a beautiful green gown, and Nixie had put a beautiful pendant around her throat that the Mer King and Queen wanted Aurelia to have. The Indians from the camp began a slow chant, and slowly, all the different people joined, singing in their own way, forming a haunting melody.

Hook and Peter stood side by side, as they started to push the raft to sea. When they were waist deep in the water, Peter spoke to Aurelia.

"Aurelia. You are, and always will be my best friend. We've been through so much together, and you're the best person I have ever known. I hope, that wherever you are, you are happy and treated with the kindness, respect and love you deserve. Words cannot express how much we will all miss you. I will always remember you as the beautiful girl who dreamed of adventure, when we used to sneak out in the middle of the night down to the lake, and the amazing woman she grew up to be. Goodbye, Aurelia"

He walked away, patting Hook on the shoulder.

Killian cleared his throat. Then again.

"I've never been good with words, darling. Well, not emotional ones anyway. It's safe to say we got off on the wrong foot, but I don't regret a minute of knowing you. You've enchanted me, made me love you, and I am the luckiest person alive. The truth is, I'm scared. I don't know what I'm going to do without you. But this isn't goodbye for us, my love. We'll meet again, soon. I love you, I miss you, and I am forever yours. Sleep well, beautiful"

With a tear sliding down his cheek, he kissed the top of her pale forehead, and gave the raft one last push.

The rest was history.


	11. Revival

The sea was calm that night. The dark waves gently lapped at the wooden raft, and the night was warm and tranquil. There was a half moon giving light that shone down on Aurelia. She was still unconscious, therefore not realising that a portal had formed suddenly, her heading towards it. Her body was pulling in, and suddenly, it was daytime, in another world. She opened her eyes, the water stinging them. Thoughts of executions and sea witches and kisses filled her mind as she tried to comprehend what had happened. She tried to breathe ass the water filled into her mouth. She felt strong arms around her, dragging her towards land and out of the water, but they weren't Killian's arms, she thought, as she passed out. This wasn't Neverland.

Everything was like a dream. She thought she heard Rumplestiltskin's voice, but then he was gone, and she felt better, healed for some reason. She heard hushed whispers and felt stares, stubbornly keeping her eyes closed, not sure if she wanted to wake up.

"But eventually I did, and here I am" Aurelia said to Emma, as she stood in the kitchen, Mary Margret, Charming, Henry and Emma all listening intently.

"My God" Emma said "You've been through a lot "

"As I'm sure you have" Aurelia smiled kindly. "But I must confess, I have no idea what to do now. Rumplestiltskin will want to talk to me soon, and I'm pretty sure he'll try something nasty. And meanwhile, my one true love and friends believe I'm dead. And I have no idea where I am or who anyone is"

"Don't you worry about Gold" Emma said "He won't try anything with us as your allies"

"Allies?" Aurelia asked

"Yes" Mary Margaret agreed "And besides, we met years ago, briefly. Your father was invited to court. I remember your hair" she smiled.

Aurelia gave a small laugh "And here we are again, both a long way from home. Though I suppose mine doesn't exist anymore"

"This- Storybrooke, that is- can be your home now. Our friend- Ruby- is looking for a new flat, and a roommate to go with it. We can find you a job and once you're settled, you can figure out what to do then. These things take time, you know" Mary Margaret said calmly.

"That's very kind of you, thank you Snow. But first- I need to talk to Rumpel. This needs to be settled, sooner rather than later. I don't want to keep looking over my shoulder all the time. He's done me grave injuries, and it's time to get over them or get one back" Aurelia said, her eyes narrowing.

"Go to Grannies. That way it's in public, so he can't do anything too stupid. Calmly talk about these things" David said.

Ten minutes later, Aurelia sat in the café, with a cup of tea and slice of cherry pie to keep her occupied while she waited. She finished, and as Ruby took her plate away, the door opened, and she heard footsteps coming her way.

"Well, well, well" he began. "You fit right in here, don't you? Don't make yourself too comfortable, my dear- I'm extremely angry to see the working use of your legs again"

"Stop making useless threats, Rumpel" Aurelia began. "Yes, maybe I broke a deal. And you punished me enough when I was in your services. I don't understand why you're so filled with hate that you needed to pursue me and cause me more than imaginable. You have no idea how much I've been through, and now that everything's changed you can't- you won't- make my life any more miserable now" Aurelia breathed in slowly, her hands folded on the table.

"Such wise words, my how you've changed. I can see the strength in your eyes. See- even if you can't admit it- I've made you stronger. More resilient. Maybe it was for the wrong reasons, maybe I did… ah, over-exaggerate the punishment. And although I'm not apologising- not yet anyway, I'm fairly happy now. I won't take anything out of you anymore. I was wrong; to turn you into a mermaid, but cruelness is in my nature. It's part of being the dark one"

"I can't forgive you until I have an apology, but for now, that'll do. I'm glad to hear that you found your true love again. Not just for your sake, but for all of ours" She stood, throwing a note down in payment for the food.

As she turned to walk away, Rumpel called after her.

"I actually liked you, dearie. Maybe I will again one day"

"Perhaps you will" she said, without looking back.

Standing on the street outside, Aurelia gave a long, happy laugh. She was free. A new town, a new world. Her enemy had been sorrowful of what he had done, and she was safe. She would soon make good friends and build a home. The only thing she needed for her happy end was a pirate. She walked off in the warm air, smiling away.

Two weeks later, and Aurelia had thrown herself into the Storybrooke community. After many meetings and drinks at Grannies, Ruby and Aurelia had moved into a small flat which they had just begun to furnish. Aurelia was also working at Grannies now, and had become a popular woman with everyone.

"It's bright and vivid, I love it!" Red exclaimed, looking at their little kitchen.

"Exactly, I thought yellow was a bold move at first, when the sun hit's it, it looks just perfect" Aurelia sighed with happiness. The girls had spent their time buying furniture and discussing paint schemes. Red polished their new dining table as Aurelia placed a small vase of roses in the middle.

The two had become the best of friends, from spending their nights watching comedies and giggling into bowls of popcorn to sharing secrets. As Aurelia put up a vintage map of the world- that is- the world she was in currently- on her wall (painted in colours of sea blues and greens) she heard Red coughing. She paused, but went back to finishing up her room. She brushed her teeth and got into a new set of pyjamas, smiling to herself.

The next morning, she woke up. She was normally the first, and as she made coffee and a healthy fruit salad for the pair, Ruby never appeared.

"Ruby?" Aurelia called, getting no answer. She frowned, but assumed Ruby had gone into work early which was unusual, but Aurelia got dressed and walked out. Since her shift didn't start until 9 today, she visited the library to stock up on some new reading material. On her way, Henry and Emma walked past.

"Aurelia!" henry exclaimed, running up and giving her a hug. She squeezed him, laughing, and greeted Emma.

"Hey guys, how are you?" she said.

"Brilliant!" Henry said "For school today, we have to research sea creatures and sea life. You could help me!" the excitable little boy buzzed.

"Now Henry, don't badger Aurelia. I'm sure she's had enough of the sea for now" Emma winked.

"No, no, I don't mind helping you. When it's your lunch come by at Grannies and I'll help you, okay?" Aurelia smiled.

"Thank you" Emma said "C'mon Henry, or you'll be late for school" as she tugged on the little boys hand.

"Thanks Aurelia!" henry yelled after, and the woman watched the mother and son.

Henry was chattering away, his free hand animatedly waving around as Emma listened intently, giving a little laugh every now and then. Aurelia could feel the love between them. It was beautiful. She felt a pang of sadness, missing her aunt. Suddenly a wave of sadness came over her, and she walked mindlessly.

She'd been happy since she was in Storybrooke. But it hadn't helped her with everything she'd been through. She wished that she could turn back time, change her life. If things had been different, her aunt and friends might still be alive.

No, they wouldn't. The queen still would've destroyed the village. Because she was evil. She wouldn't have met Hook, and Aurelia wouldn't change that, not for anything. She missed him. Maybe he turned more evil, doing bad deeds in anger. Maybe he never really loved her, she just loved him.

She spent an hour until she winded to the docks, her feet dangling in her water, her shoes in her hand.

She turned up for her shift, and Granny's was surprisingly packed. Granny was rushed off her feet, her face flushed and her hair wild.

"I'm going to kill that girl" she said to Aurelia "God knows how many times she's been late, but today's the special free coffee with every slice of pie and OH!" she dropped a plate, which smashed.

"Sit, down, I'll handle this" Aurelia said. She briefly worried about Ruby, making a mental note to check on her in her break, but was soon pulled into the disaster. She swept up the plate, and starting whirling around, making coffee after coffee, teas and serving slices of pie. She cleaned as she went, taking money and serving with a smile, until her break came, and she was exhausted.

"Thanks, Aurelia. I'll pay you double- not triple" Granny said.

"I'm just going to head home and see if Ruby's there" Aurelia said. Suddenly, Henry came rushing in.

"Oh, crap" Aurelia muttered, completely forgotten about her promise to the little boy.

They sat down at the table, an ice cream sundae between them as Henry asked questions, and Aurelia became absorbed in telling the little boy every detail of the sea.

She told him about how dolphins and sharks hunted and how the Mer had an almost agreement with the animals not to attack.

She told him about how fish change colour, if they live near the surface they are often blue, green or violet, but in what is called the 'twilight zone' fish are silver or light coloured. They discussed the medicinal properties of sea plants, and Aurelia even sketched some rare fish for Henry. She enjoyed spending time with the boy and his intent listening and enthusiasm made her happy.

"Thank you so much, Aurelia, that was brilliant" he said "Oh, my teacher is going to love this, you're the best!" he took a mouthful of ice cream, hugged her and ran out. She leaned back, giving a little laugh, before looking at the clock. Time for work.

After several more hours on her feet, running around, chatting to people, recommending flavours of pie, cleaning dishes and whatnot, they finally closed the place.

"Yep, don't even argue about it, you're definitely getting triple the pay" Granny said "we can afford it anyway; the profits of tonight are very beneficial to us"

"I'm glad" Aurelia yawned.

"Now get on home, have a nice bath and tuck into bed. And if you see Ruby- tell her if she's not in here by 6am tomorrow we're going to have very strong words" the old woman said sternly, before breaking into a smile. "Night, Aurelia"

"See you tomorrow" Aurelia said, walking off and yawning again to herself. He eyes were almost closed as she put the key in her door, closing and flumped on the sofa.

"Hey, Ruby? Reeeeeed? Ruby?" She called, with her eyes closed. Nothing.

She forced herself up, her feet almost buckling beneath her fragile body. She walked into Ruby's room. It was dark, and… almost humid.

She flipped the light on, and gasped.

Ruby was lying in the bed, crying. Her body was curled into the foetus position, still in her pyjamas from the night before. They were covered with sweat, and she was shaking violently. She was so pale, she looked like a corpse. Her lips were blue and her eyes rolled back and one hand reached out to Aurelia, a small, almost whine coming out of her dry, cracked lips.

"Ruby?" Aurelia ran to the girl grabbing her head and arm. "Shit, what's the matter? Oh God, what's wrong?"

Aurelia had no idea what to do. She grabbed the phone, dialling the first number that came to mind. Emma answered.

"Hello?" the woman yawned.

"Emma, you have to help me!" Aurelia panted.

"Aurelia?" Emma sounded concerned "What's wrong?"

"It's Ruby… Something's seriously wrong, I need help, please, please, send someone down here to help her"

After Emma has reassured her of getting help, Aurelia ran, getting a glass of water, and helping Ruby drink it. She then pulled back Ruby's hair as the poor girl threw it all back up.

She tried to cool the girl down, wiping her brow with a damp cloth, but Ruby was burning like fire, her forehead creased in pain, clutching at her legs.

Emma came, followed by Mary Margaret and Doctor Whale.

It was a long night in the hospital. Watery cups of awful coffee were being brought to Aurelia as she sat, unmoving; outside the room Ruby was kept.

"It's not your fault" Granny reassured.

"If I'd checked on her earlier, in the morning, or lunch, she might not have been this bad" Aurelia sighed, pushing her hair back. "I just don't understand she was fine before. What's wrong with her?"

Doctor Whale came out, his face impassive.

"Tell me everything" Aurelia demanded, standing up.

"According to our tests… Nothing is wrong. We can't find the source of the pain, I haven't seen an illness with these exact symptoms before" he said "we'll keep her in hospital until we know more, but for now, we're not quite sure how to proceed"

Aurelia told Emma and Mary Margaret when she got back to the flat.

"Do you think it's possibly a curse" Aurelia asked the two women, over a cup of tea.

"Highly probably, in this town" Emma said, her eyes narrowed. You could practically hear the cogs in her mind whirring as she mentally ran through the list of suspects in her head.

"But why Ruby?" Mary Margaret said. "She has no prominent enemies, not enough to curse her randomly"

Aurelia stood up, walking into Ruby's room. She searched it briefly, finding not much. To the side of Ruby's bed, however, was a fancy box of chocolates, with only a few having been eaten.

"Guys, can you come here for a second?"

After examining the box, it was decided that it possibly was poison or a curse on the chocolates.

"We only have one option" Emma mused "To go to Gold. He's the most magical person in this place; he may be the only person who can fix this"

"You're right" Aurelia sighed. "It's late, but the sooner we go the better. Ruby isn't in a good condition"

They ran over, thoughts of poison in their minds.

Aurelia rapped hard on Gold's door, again and again every minute until they heard the slow pace and tap of his cane as he walked towards them.

"Do you have any idea what the time is?" he asked, his face clearly furious.

"We need your help" Aurelia said, quickly telling him of the nights events.

"Well, thank you for informing me dearie, but I really don't care" He laughed. "Why should I use my valuable magic on a mutt like her?"

Aurelia could've slapped him, but gritted her teeth.  
"You're the only person that can" she said.

"Actually, that's not true. Every single person in this town has the slightest hint of magic in them. The most powerful, being me, then the queen. Emma has a good deal of magic in her, but there is only one other person that can help you" he said.

"Tell me" Aurelia said.

"Why should I?" he asked.

"Why not? You'd be killing another person practically. How do you think your son will handle that?" she said.

"Touché, very well done. The other person… It's you, Aurelia. You have magic in you, I taught you that. Now, you just need to remember how to use it" he smiled.


	12. Dreamlike

_Hi guys, Author here. I just wanted to quickly write and thank you all for the reviews, favourite and follows, it truly makes me so happy so thank you guys! Also, to update, I'm trying to align my story with the events of what actually happen in OUAT but seeing as characters are in different places and such, its very difficult so sorry if there are any mistakes. Hook will be returning, fo'sure, and I am thinking of including some more OCs. Also, Regina has deliberately not been in town, I haven't forgotten about her don't worry! _

_More reviews = many more chapters. _

_Peace and Love, _

_M _

_~ Flashback to when Aurelia was working for Rumplestiltskin ~_

_Aurelia was in the kitchens, scrubbing the cold black stone floor with an old mop when he called her. _

"_Yes, sir?" She asked, rubbing a hand on her forehead. _

"_What do you think of magic, Aurelia?" Rumpel asked, sitting in hic chair, spinning. _

"_I'm not too sure on it. I don't know much about magic, but nothing particularly good or bad has happened to me because of it" she shrugged. _

"_Hm. Well, I guess. You don't know what you're missing" he shrugged. As she started to walk back out, he called her back. _

"_Would you like to learn?" _

"_Learn?" she asked, looking at him. He was wearing a queer smile, like an unusual idea had popped into his head. _

"_Yes. I can teach you, how to use magic, if you want. It's not easy, but it'll be fun for me, to watch you struggle" he said "How can you refuse?" _

"_Fair enough " Aurelia sighed "Lets start" _

_Over the course of a couple of month, Aurelia had mastered a few spells. Often they went wrong, or simple didn't work, but she could on occasion provide a spell for Immobilization, or barriers. She could sometimes shield Rumplestiltskin, and often she had tried to peek in a silver book he was reading, but he didn't want to teach her too much in case she used it against him. _

_After they had learnt the summoning spell, they sat, on the floor. _

"_Are there any 'good' spells?" Aurelia asked. _

"_What on earth do you mean?" Rumpel said, looking slightly shocked. _

"_Well, all of these spells are slightly negative. What about a spell that would be helpful? Like a happiness one, or a healing spell?"_

"_I don't particularly dwell on the happy spells, dearie. Healing can be easy or difficult, depending on the wound" he shrugged. _

"_You never know, I may have to heal you one day" She said seriously. _

"_I doubt if I can't heal myself, you can" he laughed. "But I'll tell you anyway. Now, with surface wounds, its easy to create a poultice, with simple herbs and ingredients. But when something's rooted inside, rotting away like disease, it takes powerful magic. You take something personal of the injured, and to cast the healing spell on it, so the good energy channels through to the person. There are other ways, but I can't be bothered to give you every little details. But you say 'Resanesco' and burn the personal item. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't" _

"_Oh, I see" Aurelia said. "That seems relatively easy"_

"_Depends on how good you are at magic" he said, blandly. "Now get back to work"_

_Aurelia sighed. _

In the hospital, Mary Margaret, Emma, David and Aurelia gathered at Rubys bed.

"okay, so what item did you get?" Emma asked.

"Her lipstick. Hopefully she wont miss it, but it's the first thing I thought to grab" Aurelia said.

"Right, try the spell" Emma said, closing the hospital door.

Aurelia said the words, rying to concentrate but feeling stupid. She took a lighter, but the ipstick wouldn't light.

She tried to process again, but that, too failed.

"Well, at least you tried" David said "It was probably Rumplestiltskin wasting our time"

"No" Aurelia said "I think it was him. That sent the chocolates. He meant for Ruby to get them. He knows I remember the spell. He knew we would come to him. This was his plan. Was it to make me feel responsible for ruby not getting better?"

"Oh, hun, it's not your fault" Mary said "It just him. You've had you're issues, and now he's taking it out on other people. He's not a good person, Aurelia, you know that of all of us"

"I know… I just thought she'd be okay" Aurelia said, taking Rubys hand.

"We'll leave you for a minute alone" Emma said. Once outside, she said to her parents "I'm going to talk to Gold" and strode off.

Inside, the monitor beat steadily.

"I'm really sorry, Ruby. I didn't mean to screw things up for you. I'm really trying" she said.

She sat there, and realised how she knew from the beginning. She didn't trust magic. Maybe if she had more belief then it would work.

She tried it once more. A she held the lipstick her hands were shaking, she said the magic word confidently, her eyes closed, trying to feel the magic, and the power flowing through her. She imagined Ruby laughing, fully healed, dancing, talking, walking, full of life.

The lipstick started to glow, and burn, in violet ad purple flames. A glow seemed to cover Ruby, ad she instantly looked better, her ski was a normal colour, her breathing was normal, her face more relaxed. She opened her eyes.

"Oh thank God" Aurelia broke down next to the girl.

"Aurelia? What happened?"

After several cups of tea, an explanation and clear test results, Ruby and Aurelia sat at home discussing the previous events. After Emma, Mary Margaret and David had joined them, they went through possible scenarios.

"I don't understand. I know it's Gold behind this, I just don't see why he'd set this all up only to help us?" Aurelia sighed, exasperated.

"I think we'll just have to leave it at that. If another incident like this happens, then WW3 breaks out" Emma said "But for now, lets just be rational"

"yeah, it's good to look on the bright side" Mary Margaret added.

"You owe me a new lipstick" Ruby winked at Aurelia.

Later on, Aurelia sat in her bedroom. She was cocooned in blankets and duvets with pizza and chocolate, watching sad and romantic love films.

Suddenly, after watching a couple kiss as the screen faded to black, she pushed the plate away angrily. She never got her happy ending. What was the point in love films if they didn't last in real life. The struggles that Snow and Charming had to go through, Red killing her boyfriend. Even this whole 'Lacey' situation was breaking Rumplestiltskin's heart.

She thought of her love. Hook. She'd tried pushing him to the back of her mind and tried to start a new life, but she couldn't live without him. She'd never find anyone she loved as much as him, he was her soul mate. She felt incomplete, missing.

Finally, she managed to let in the emotion she'd been holding back for so long. She sobbed and sobbed, her body wracking with emotion, her pillow soaked with tears, her face completely red and puffy until she couldn't anymore. Ruby run her a nice hot bubble bath, and as she slid into bed, tired and depressed, she made a promise that she would find him. She couldn't give up.

No, she wouldn't.

Over the next couple of weeks, many residents of Storybrooke noticed Aurelia seemed… distracted. She couldn't hold a conversation longer than five minutes, she was always rushing home whenever she was free, making notes in a pad and staring into space.

Finally, when she was coming home from work, a free cherry slice in hand, she noticed Emma sitting down at her kitchen table.

"So… This was supposed to be an intervention" Emma said

"Really?" Aurelia said "Not a very good turn out, I'm afraid. Is it too late for me to be saved?"

"Nah, everyone's just busy- Mary Margaret had to take Henry to the dentist, David had to fix a light or something like that, Rubys working, Grannies working, etc" Emma shrugged as Aurelia sat opposite, grabbing two forks for the women to share the pie.

"So what's this intervention for, hmm?" Aurelia asked.

"You've been acting strange lately. Preoccupied, always rushing about, something's clearly on your mind. If its this whole Ruby-Chocolates-poison thing I can look into it if you'd like-" Emma offered, but Aurelia cut her off.

"It's not. Look, I might as well say it straight. I'm looking for Hook. Or rather, a way to find him. Over the past few weeks, I've been researching portals and magic and spells and so on to try and see if I can find a way to reunite with him" she said.

"You realise how difficult that's going to be" Emma said.

"I know. But isn't it worth it? I mean, it's love. And I'm lucky enough to have found it, and I'm not going to let anything take it away again. I'm going to try and be-friend Gold to see if he can help me- that alone is going to take years after the amount of issue we have" she rolled her eyes, taking another bite of the delicious pie.

"I can try and help" Emma said "I'll ask around about other worlds and transportation. You might want to ask mother superior about the magic stuff before Gold though"

"Thanks Emma. It means a lot, it really does. And I promise I won't be distracted anymore. I'll be normal again" she laughed.

Emma grabbed her bag "Sure. I'd love the stay but I've got a tonne of things to be doing… If you're sure you're okay?"

Aurelia nodded and Emma let herself out. Aurelia walked to her bedroom.

Okay, it was becoming a little bit obsessive. The walls were covered with paper diagrams and links and key words and people. She'd written out all possible ways of trying to find him or bring him to her. Trouble is, he thinks she's dead.

Aurelia sighed, and made a cup of coffee. It was going to be a long night.

The next day, at work, Aurelia almost snoozed off.

"I was thinking red, but that's like, my main colour. I might try some variation though, as it's a special occasion. What do you think?" Ruby asked Aurelia.

"I'm sorry, I didn't listen to a word of that, completely zoned out. Repeat please?" Aurelia groaned.

"The Summer solstice ball? Next Saturday?"

"Oh, right, yeah" Aurelia said, zoning out again.

Mary and David had started to plan a missive ball for the summer, so everyone can have a good time. They were holing it in a nearby hall, and it was a masquerade ball. Naturally, everyone was excited, but Aurelia was too focused on her 'Trying to find true love mission' that she wasn't interested.

"I think I will go with red" Ruby said, leaning on the counter.

"Don't even get me started on costumes" Aurelia muttered, passing out coffee "I'm never good with that stuff"

"I'll help!" Ruby said enthusiastically.

Aurelia smiled, but gave a inward sigh. Two more days till the ball. Oh dear.

"Aurelia, I positively need you! It's an emergency!" mary Margaret said, her voice desperate. Aurelia shot out of bed, looking at her alarm. 5:02 am.

"Oh my Go, what's wrong?" she asked, pulling clothes on and grabbing all essential items to shove in her bag.

"David and I were checking things out in the hall, but he went to put some lights up and slipped and I'm driving him to the hospital now but we need to set everything up, and you're the only person I trust to do it well enough!" the woman said.

Aurelia almost growled at her phone.

"Who started setting up at five in the morning?!" she said "Fine, fine, I'm on my way now. Don't panic. I'll call at 7 to let you know how everything's going. Give David my love and hope he's okay"

"You're a life saver Aurelia!"

"I know!" Aurelia said "Bye" and hung up.

Ten minutes later, she almost cried. The hall was an absolute state.

She started off by mopping the floors and cleaning the windows. After her years of service with Rumpel and the queen, she knew how to do it quickly and efficiently. She then set up the massive tables, and the fairy lights around the ceiling of the massive room. She hung little crystal decorations and glass stars so that the room look magical and sophisticated.

She had to borrow David's truck to pick up the flowers and food, and then spent about 2 hours organising and making everything look perfect. She'd always had a slight OCD case but she wanted this to be perfect for Mary Margaret. She even went round with a febreeze spray so everything smelled delightful. She rolled the red carpet down for the guests, swept the driveway of leaves and set up the sound system to play classical music, as Mary Margaret wanted it to be very old fashioned, something out of 'Pride and Prejudice' or one of the films.

She checked up with Mary Margaret and then sat on the floor. She was dirty, sweaty, her hair was a sweat, she hadn't got a costume in time. She needed a fairy godmother, and not the mother superior kind.

Locking up, she drove home, only to Ruby basically dragging her inside. Ruby looked stunning, wearing a bright vibrant blood red slinky gown with a slit up one thigh, and the back was made of black lace. Her eye makeup- smokey eyes- was fantastic.

"Right, we have about 45 minutes to make you beautiful, so shut up and do everything I tell you" she said.

Aurelia stared at her in alarm. She had a bath, washed her hair, shaved, painted her nails a light pink with little diamonds. As she put a face mask on, Ruby cured her hair. After the face mask was washed off and her face was smooth, they carefully applied makeup.

"Right, close your eyes and step into the dress" Ruby instructed, and Aurelia followed obediently.

The dress was heavy, and the material felt lovely. Ruby put on Aurelia's high heels and walked her, blind, to the mirror.

"okay, look!"

The only way Aurelia could describe it was something out of a fairytale.

Her hair was it's usual vibrant auburn, curled, with a small diamond tiara. Her makeup was pretty and elegant, simple. The dress was a beautiful white, cream and ivory gown, with blue and green layers of chiffron, so that if she turned slightly it looked like the sea. It also had an embroidered bodice of sapphires and emeralds. It was a stunning dress.

"My God" Aurelia whispered "It's perfect"

"I know!" Ruby squealed.

"You are seriously, the best friend ever!" Aurelia said, turning to squeeze the girl tight.

"C'mon, after saving my life? And I know how hard you worked all day to get the hall perfect. It was nothing!" Ruby said. Both girls couldn't stop grinning, and Ruby grabbed a polaroid camera.

"Another present" she said.

"Oh, no, I couldn't" Aurelia said, holding the beautiful camera.

"You're part of Storybrooke now. Take pictures of your friends and family, it'll make you happy" Ruby said.

Aurelia took a picture of her and Ruby in their costumes in the mirror.

"Oh, before we go, here's your mask"

Ruby's mask was sharp pointy red spikes, very fitting and appropriate.

Aurelia's was a teal smooth mask with different shades of turquoise and sea coloured feathers along the rim, with a line of diamonds to make it stand out.

She could've cried, she was so happy.

They entered the ball, and everything was perfect. The members of Storybrooke were laughing, dancing, having fun. Everyone's costumes was brilliant.

Snow and Charming were both in a dazzling, brilliant white, of course, and both enthusiastically thanked her.

"It' better than I could've imagined" Mary Margaret said with tears in her eyes "We are so grateful"

"It's nothing for a friend" Aurelia said "I just hope your leg gets better" she said, nodding the Davids crutch.

Emma and Henry came in. Emma was wearing a stunning black dress and black mask, and her hair looked beautiful up.

"Wow, Henry, you look so handsome! I think I'm going to have to dance with you!" Aurelia said, grabbing the boys hand and twirling him about.

It was a perfect night. Aurelia made good friends, and spent the night dancing and chatting and having fun.

"May I have a dance?" a voice asked from behind Aurelia as she sipped at a cocktail. She spun round, facing Mr Gold.

"Oh.. um. Sure" she said.

He took her hand and waist, and they started to glide round. He was wearing a fairly standard black tuxedo with gold lining, and a gold mask.

"You do know it was me that sent the poisoned chocolates to Red, correct?" he said calmly.

"Yes. Why? What could you possibly gain from that?" she said, glaring at him through her mask.

"I have decided- ahem- to be a better person. I love Bel-Lacey, and, well, she's not too keen at the moment. Maybe If I'm a nice person my Belle will come back. And I had hoped that if I helped you with a magic breakthrough, then maybe we could start to mend our bridges" he said

Aurelia considered this. "And poisoning my best friend is going to make me forgive you?" she said.

"Yes, I realised that maybe it wasn't the best plan" he said "But, it was an effort"

"For now, I can agree to be civil. I'm obviously going to be in Storybrooke for quite some time, and I'd like the be friends with everyone I can" Aurelia said.

"I'm glad" Gold said. The song ended, he kissed her hand, and said "It was a pleasure", then curtly walked off.

Aurelia drank another cocktail. And another. And another. In fact, she'd had quite a lot of alcohol. There were steps leading to a balcony in the air, and she stumbled up them, wanting to be alone. She stood, looking out at the view of Storybrooke, and sighed.

The cool air felt nice on her back, and suddenly, she felt extremely dizzy. She grabbed on the wall, leaning forward slightly, breathing in and out. Just as she passed out, somebody grabbed her.

It was a man, and his arms were strong and safe and warm, and in her hazed state she looked. The last thing she noticed before she passed out was Killians face smiling down at her.

"Sleep now, my love. I will see you soon" he said softly in her ear.

When she woke up, she was in a sitting position on the balcony, by herself. She stood up, a headache forming.

"Killian?" She called out. She saw him. It was definitely him.

She ran downstairs.

"Ah, here she is!" A big voice boomed out "Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the woman who if we were not lucky to have her, tonight would not have been possible. The newest member of our little community, please give a big thank you to Aurelia!" Mary Margaret was saying into a microphone, and everyone cheered.

David handed her some flowers, and she gave a dazed smile.

The rest of the night was a blur. Aurelia couldn't find Ruby, David, Emma or Mary Margaret after that and she needed to talk to someone desperately.

She walked outside, looking around. No one to be seen.

She couldn't wait to find them, so took off her shoes and started to walk home barefoot.

She was going crazy. That was the only explanation. She was so desperate to see Killian she had actually imagined him up. Or maybe Gold had poisoned her and it was just a side effect.

She didn't know. But she was cold, tired and confused and wanted to go to bed.

When she got in, she carefully hung the dress back up, placed the shoes underneath and got into her pyjamas, falling straight into sleep.


	13. Elusive

The next morning, Ruby and Aurelia sat going through the pictures of the night before, giggling like schoolgirls. Aurelia had completely forgotten about the encounter with her, and if she had remembered, she wouldn't have worried her friend and said anything.

Aurelia had just put on her new outfit she'd bought- a floral high necked top with a burgundy knitted skirt and cute black boots when Ruby called her into the kitchen.

"hey, who's this?" she asked, pointing at a picture. Aurelia looked at the picture closely. She could see herself, dancing with Rumpel "Ew, burn it" she joked, then noticed a figure in the picture.

Black hair, black mask, black tux. She tried to figure the height and weight but as they were lurking in the shadows it wasn't easy to tell.

It looked like Killian.

"Okay, I just remembered something from last night" Aurelia said, frowning and turning to face Ruby.

Suddenly, a crash was heard from outside. The two girls ran outside quickly to see the commotion. In the middle of the docks was a massive ship. Not just any ship- The Jolly Roger.

Hooks ship.

Aurelia froze. People had gathered round, chattering excitedly about what it could mean. The sails were ripped, and some of the wood was breaking off, as if it had been in a storm or something. Aurelia pushed her way to the front of the crowd, raising a hand to shield the sun from her eyes and squinting up.

And then she saw him. Killian.

He was standing, looking a mix of annoyed, bemused and disappointed at his ship. He shrugged, and started to talk off the deck. A few men scurried off board after him.

"Killian" Aurelia whispered. Her heart was pounding so fast she thought it might burst. Every inch of her body wanted to run to him, grab him, kiss him and hold him for days without moving. She wanted to hear his voice, to stare into his eyes, to tell him how much he meant to her and she would never, ever lose him again. Words couldn't describe how much she missed him.

She pushed and forced people out of her way. Hook was talking to Mary Margaret and Emma when Aurelia came up to them. She stood, staring at him. It was actually him.

He turned, looked at her, then went back to his conversation.

"…landed it Storybrooke again, still don't know what happened exactly"

"Killian" Aurelia said, her voice almost cracking. He turned to her again.

"yes…?" He seemed confused.

"It..why..?" she didn't know what to say, he just stared at her blankly.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" he said, then looked her up and down "Then again darlin', maybe I should" and winked.

"Killian, do you now know who I am?" she asked, as Emma and Mary Margaret pushed people away and sending them home, giving the couple privacy.

"no, am I supposed to?" he said

"This is a joke, right? Some kind of joke? Killian, it's me, it's Aurelia"

"I'm really sorry love, but I've never met you before in my life. Shame"

"NO" she said, angrily.

"Listen, I don't know why you seem to think you know me, but this is getting a bit old, okay? I've got a banged up ship that I need to sort out, so we might have to do this another time" he said, turning away.

Aurelia fell into Emma's arms, and the two women went back to her apartment.

"I don't understand. How can he not remember me?" she said.

Mary Margret followed, then chimed in "The same thing happened to David and I, I took a potion because I was so heartbroken. Maybe Hook did the same" she suggested.

Oh, the selfish, stupid bastard" Aurelia cried angrily "I'm not dead!"

"Clearly" Emma said drily "Sorry. I don't know what to do. Go to Gold?"

"I don't think Gold will help Hook after their long history" Aurelia sighed. "This is so messed up. What am I supposed to do?"

"We'll figure something out, I mean Lacey lost her memory too right? If she makes a breakthrough that could help us, too" Mary suggested.

"I guess" Aurelia said moodily "It's just so frustrating"

"Maybe you could start over. You didn't exactly have the best relationship. Maybe now…" Emma suggested.

Aurelia lifted her head up. "that's a plan" she said.

Over the next few days, Aurelia casually roamed round the town in the hopes of bumping into Hook, but she barely saw him.

He came into Grannies and she shoved Ruby aside, walking to the table.

"Er- hi, what can I get you?" she said, breathlessly. His beautiful eyes looked up at her, and winked.

"Just a coffee, darlin'

"Sure" she said, practically skipping off. As she made it Ruby bent over serving the table before and she saw Hook gaze not very subtly with a little smile, and her hands shook with anger as she smashed the cup on the floor accidentally.

"Calm down, he thinks he's a single man, he's allowed" She muttered to herself.

Days passed, with basically no interaction. Hook just wasn't interested, he just wanted his ship fixed.

After work, Aurelia took the bins round the dumpsters. She finished locking up, and as she walked down the street, someone grabbed her from behind. She screamed, but they covered her mouth. She elbowed the attacker backwards with her elbow, and hearing a definitely male grunt, she ran, but was rugby tackled down, her face smashing into the ground.

She kept on yelling, kicking wildly with her legs.

She turned, but the attacker was wearing some sort of balaclava covering their face. They sat on top of her, pinning her arms down, when suddenly, a flying figure leaps onto the attacker and pummels him to the ground. Aurelia leaned up, and saw Hook, his face furious, punching the mans face again and again. However, when the man grabbed a lead pipe and swung it at Hooks head, he paused, giving the attacker time to run off.

Hook turned to Aurelia

"Are you okay?" his eyes looked concerned.

2Yeah, I'm fine" she said, standing up on her shaking legs. He came out and steadied her.

"You're bleeding" he said quietly, carefully wiping some blood away from her temple.

"So're you" she said, looking up at him. They were both silent for a moment, until Killian broke away.

"yeah, you should probably go hospital or something" he said, looking at the ground.

"No, I've had much, much worse. I'll be fine. Oh, and thank you, by the way. Really" she turned away, and started walking off.

"Sounds intriguing" he called after her "You may have to tell me the story over dinner"

"I may have to" she said back, then turned, leaving him staring after her.

Finally, a breakthrough. Okay, she had to get beat up for it, but she wasn't scared. In fact, she was happy.

As she got home, she was surprised to see mother superior sitting at her kitchen table.

"Erm, hi?" she said.

"My dear, you are wounded" the fairy said "What happened?"

"Oh, long story" Aurelia lied. "What a lovely surprise to see you here"

"I came because I heard a rumour you're in need of a memory reversing potion, yes?" Mother superior said.

"Yes, yes I am" Aurelia said.

"Well I just gave you to Belle, and it worked completely. It might take me a few weeks to provide another, but you can definitely have it"

"really? That's so kind of you! Thank you so, so much you have no idea how much this means to me thank you!" Aurelia said, jumping up and hugging the woman.

After mother superior left, Aurelia sat at the table for an hour or two just thinking. Soon, she would get her happy ending. Everything would be perfect.

It was a quiet night at Grannies and Aurelia was waiting for a couple to finish eating when Killian came in. He sat down, and seeing as Aurelia was the only one working that night, she walked over with a small smile.

"Hi" she said, looking down at her notepad

"Hey" he said "How's the head?"

"Eh, its fine. You?"

"yeah mines fine too. Like you, I've had much worse" Killian said.

"Oh really?" Aurelia said "Well, how about I join you and you can tell me your story. Unless, of course, you're just bragging" she shrugged.

He gave a hearty laugh "Right. Well in that case, I'll have a cup of coffee and a ice cream sundae, and of course, whatever you're having" he said, with a grin.

The couple walked out, giving Aurelia a tip, and she smiled, wishing them a good night.

Aurelia sauntered over, grabbing anything, and sat down opposite.

"Why don't I try and guess about you?" she asked.

"Go for it" he laughed "I'm a very hard person to read"

She looked him up and down. "Pirate, obviously. Goes by the name Hook. Not a very good one, clearly, I mean who smashed their ship up like that? Orphan, perhaps? Tough exterior, you don't like letting people to get close so you push them away with flirting and sarcasm. Trust very few people, but I'd say quite protective of those you do care about" Aurelia paused.

Killian's face remained impassive, then broke into a small smile.

"Fair enough" he said "You must be good"

"Oh not really, just a lucky hunch" Aurelia said.

"So, what's your story?" he asked.

Aurelia thought. "Well, I lived in my village until I was kidnapped by some pir-bandits. Then I made a deal with Rumplestiltskin and was his slave for a year until I ran away, worked for the queen for a year until I escaped, got turned into a mermaid, made a deal to find love in three days, fell in love with a man but it didn't work out, I died, came back to life and then I ended up here" she shrugged, taking a sip of her tea.

"You must be quite a tough cookie" he said, his eyes wider, leaning back. "I couldn't imagine working for that crocodile" he shuddered, his face murderous.

"Good points and bad" she said.

"So… A mermaid, huh?" he said, still slightly in awe.

"yup. It wasn't that bad- well, the transition was extremely painful, which is why I have a high tolerance for pain now, but now I'm immortal" she said.

"You won't age?" he asked

"Nope"

"you won't die?"

"Nope"

"That's pretty cool"

"yeah, I guess. So c'mon then, what's the roughest scrape you've gotten into then?" she said.

He then launched into an exciting story about when he was out at sea and was at war with another pirates. Aurelia listened intently, but was slightly distracted by the way he said certain lines, the intensity of his eyes, the little smirk, his body posture, his voice, everything. She fell more in love with him every second she was with him.

They ended up talking all night, with Aurelia refilling their cups and Killian help wipe down the tables as they swapped stories and opinions about everything.

As Aurelia finished her coffee she yawned, and Hook glanced at the clock.

"It's nearly 4am" he said casually.

Aurelia blinked. "Wow, you're right. Oops. I should probably lock up and try and get some sleep, I start at 7 tomorrow" she groaned.

"And that is why I don't work" he said.

"Because you're lazy and just steal other peoples money instead?" she retorted.

"I don't steal it exactly, if it' just sitting there…" he shrugged.

As they walked out of the shop, they turned to face Aurelia.

"That was… nice" she said, looking down at the ground. "I guess I'll see you around"

"Sure thing, love" he said, strolling off.

The nights started to repeat. Sometimes Aurelia would be busy so they'd have a quick word, or Killian was working on the ship, but when she worked alone at night he would come in and they would talk. One night, Killian told her about his father, and how they had planned to travel across the realms, but his father abandoned him, because he was afraid of being captured. Aurelia told Hook about the queen killing her village, and how her aunt an two best friends were dead. Their hands were close next to each other, and they mutually held hands.

After that, Aurelia stopped seeing Killian. He never came into Grannies, she never saw him in the street. The other day she was walking along with the mother superior when he caught her eye and ignored her, walking off. She excused herself and went after him.

"Hey, what's p with you?" she said, sitting on the side of his ship.

"I don't have time to chat, dollface" he said "So you can scoot on now, I'm busy"

"Alright…" she said, hopping off "Didn't have to be such a dick about it" and walked off.

She didn't notice him punch the wall after she left in anger, and sighing to himself.

After explaining the story to Ruby, Aurelia expected comfort, but got a unpleasant reply of "I'm sorry hun, that's really shitty but I have to go" and walked out the door.

Aurelia moped around all night.

Ruby walked down the streets, down to the docks. She saw Hook and some men trying to fix one of the beams.

"HEY YOU" she called "PIRATE, C'MERE"

He walked down. "Yes?" he said, looking bored.

"What's the deal with Aurelia?" she said "I don't want to be a pushy best friend, but decent guys don't make friends with girls one minute then are complete pricks to them next"

"Maybe I'm not a decent guy then doll" he said, turning away.

"You don't know anything, do you? You have utterly no idea what's going on" she said hysterically.

"What are you talking about? I really don't have time for this" he said.

"oh, I'm glad you lost your memory" she said bitterly.

"Memory? Mines perfectly intact, thank you very much"

"No, it's really, really not. Think about it, where were you last month?"

He frowned "Well, I don't know exactly, probably sailing somewhere"

"No. Why don't you ask Rumplestiltskin what happened? I would say ask Aurelia but vermin like you shouldn't be near her" she said angrily, walking off.

Hook stood there, confused. Then he started walking.

He knock at Gold doors.

When the crocodile answered, the two men stood there, glaring at each other.

"I'd heard you came back to town" rumple said, leaning against the doorway. "Not trying to kill me again, are you?"

"Perhaps" Hook gritted his teeth.

"The last time I saw you was with your precious little mermaid in your arms I believe. Didn't work out too well now, did it?" Gold said.

"What're you talking about? Mermaid?" Hook said.

"You've lost your memory too" Gold stated. "Oh, how tragic for Aurelia. It gets better and better"

"Aurelia? Look, I haven't lost my memory? I just want answers for gods sake" he said.

"Like I'd give you answers" Gold said.

"Be careful, crocodile. Be careful" Hook pointed at him, walking away.

As he stalked off angrily, he bumped into mother superior.

"Oh! Excuse you!" she said, getting no reply "Well, someones in a bad mood. Take that foul scowl off your face and come with me" she said, pulling his arm.

"Tea, coffee?"

"Nothing, thank you" Hook said, straining the words "Why have you dragged me here?"

"Coffee it is. Now drink up. I expect things have been confusing for you ltely, people telling you you've lost your memory and whatnot" she said.

"I just want to fix my ship and get out of here. I'm tired with Storybrooke" Hook said

"Oh stop being so moody" she said "You're actually not disliked here, y'know. You could make a home here. Family"

"My home is at sea and I don't do families" he said bluntly, looking at his hook.

"Drink your coffee. Well, that's nice" she said, watching him drink.

He took a sip,


	14. Hopeless

Aurelia sat at the kitchen table, tears filling up her eyes. Killian had just turned against her, Ruby didn't even care about it, everyone had their happy endings but her. She'd been doomed from the beginning, her life was meant to be spent in misery. From her dead family to years in slavery, dying and then her true love not even interested in her, there was no point. She thought she could be happy in Storybrooke, but without Killian, happiness didn't exist. Reality was just disappointing and soul-crushing.

Thoughts of suicide came into her head.

"Fucking immortal" she muttered. She didn't even want to try. Then a thought came into her head. If she went out of the Storybrooke boundary. If she walked past that, would she, too, lose her memory? Or did it just affect people under the curse?

It was worth a try. If she couldn't die, maybe she'd be happy with no memory. If not, she would just keep going until she found another town and another until she found some kind of memory erasing spell or a way to die.

She grabbed a small rucksack, packing her clothes, money, a bit of food and essentials into it. She wiped the tears away, her face turning stony. She would turn her heart to ice, never love anything, never lose anything. She was tired to being the loser, heartbroken and crying every time something went wrong. She wouldn't curl up and die, but turn herself into a queen, with a palace and servants.

She left a note on the side.

'Ruby,

_I'm sorry but I have to leave. Storybrooke is not my home.  
Killian doesn't remember me. I'm going to walk out of the boundary.  
if I lose my memory, I will be blissfully unaware of the pain.  
if I still remember, I'm going to travel far away._

_Thank you for everything._

_Aurelia x'_

Grabbing her suitcase, she icily walked out of the door, shutting it hard behind her.

Aurelia was careful to take the non busy, silent roads down the the forest so she wouldn't be questioned. However, after having to walk around the park, she heard a voice calling after her.

"Aurelia" hey, Aurelia wait up!" the little voice called.

She turned, seeing Henry spinting towards her, his little scooolbag flying wildly on his bag.

"What are you doing going into the forest?" she panted when he cught up to her.

"Oh, just going for a walk" She lied casually.

"I'm young, not stupid" Henry glared. "I guess I have my mums power of telling when people are lying. And you've packed a bag. Are you eaving?" he said, his arms folded sternly.

"Yes" she sighed "And I don't have much time. Look, Henry, I hate to say this, but you'll understand when you're older. Life wears you down, and sometimes, if you're not strong enough, you let it"

"But you're one of the strongest, bravest people I know" henry said.

"I doubt that" Aurelia smiled. "My plan is to travel, to see things no one else has seen and to become powerful, and rich. I know it sounds selfish, but I've got nothing left to lose kid" she smiled "Evil people are the only ones that get happiness. Good people don't"

"You don't know that" Henry said "You're just having doubts, everyone does" My mum did- well, both of them, and look how different they are! Please stay Aurelia" he said.

"Sorry, kid. Go home" She said.

He looked at her, and she stared him out, then gently pushing him back. He started walking off slowly, glancing back like a little lost puppy.

Aurelia walked until she saw the line between Storybrooke and… the real world.

She stepped over it.


	15. Happiness

Six months, 13 days and 3 hours later.

"Miss Thorne?" the timid PA asked round the corner of the door. "Mr Overton is here for the 11:30 meeting"

"Thank you, Nicole. I'll be five minutes" the woman said.

Christian Thomas Overton sat down in the empty conference room, and took a sip out of the tall glass of water in front of him. There was silence apart from the methodical ticking of the clock coming from the wall in front of him. When the hand flicked down to exactly half past, the door opened. A young woman, with glasses and auburn hair in a tight neat bun walked in. She looked smart, with simple diamond earrings and a black suit on. She sat down, placing her file in front of her.

"Welcome to the business, Mr Overton"

"Welcome? Sidi incorporations haven't decided to merge with your business yet, Miss Thorne" he said, running a hand through his silver hair.

"Oh really" she gave a dry laugh "Well, that's not going to last long. Now, here's the presentation" she said, leaning forward. "Oh, and you can call me Aurelia"

Aurelia walked to her car, beeping it open and walking in. On the drive back, she stopped off to pick up her takeaway Chinese and drove to her flat. She smiled, relieved that Mr Overton had been extremely impressed with her communication and business skills.

She balanced her files and the Chinese in one hand as she opened her flat door with the keys in the other, flicking the light switch on with her elbow.

Home.

It was a small, dingy flat but it was all her own. Besides, with the salary she was getting, she' be moving somewhere much better soon.

A small furry animal rubbed against her legs. The neighbourhood cat had taken a liking to her.

She sighed, walking to the small grey kitchen. She sat on her only chair, and started to eat her meal in the poorly lit, silent flat. She finished it, looking around. The walls were bare, one of them look like mould or something coming through. Her yellow floor clashed horrible with the grey tiles. The fridge was on its last legs and her bed was more springs than mattress. But she had slowly realised something, the terrible dawn of realisation finally crept up on her as she stared at the ugly yellow kitchen floor. Even if she lived in a beautiful mansion, eating all the food she wanted, with fast cars and expensive TVs, she wouldn't be happy.

She was, however, content. A good job, fairly decent flat and she had made some new friends. She know worked her way up and owned a business, had daily cups of tea with her slightly batty neighbour Sarah, and was living comfortably. When she first got to the city she was sleeping on the streets, selling her possessions and going to shelters for a bit of food and money.

Walking to her small chest of draws, her pale hand wandered over the jumpers, blouses, skirts or every item of clothing that she had slaved for. The candles and the pictures, her jewellery and perfumes, all accumulated after she had faced work bullies, long days and a lot of stress. But she didn't cry. She hadn't cried since the day she left Storybrooke. And she was proud of that, Aurelia felt less weak.

Her phone rang, and swallowed a mouthful of rice, she answered.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Aurelia, it's me- um, Jim" The male voice announced

She frowned. Jim worked with her, a fairly nice albeit boring, guy. He did his work, and didn't complain.

"Oh hey, what's up?" she said, leaning back.

"I was just um wondering if you'd maybe possibly- If you wanted to I mean- go to dinner with me tomorrow night?"

Aurelia looked at the calendar on the fridge. It was a Wednesday. Friday was to be spent at the pub with some work friends, Saturday was round her friend Angela's, but Thursday night after work was free.

"Sure, that'd be lovely" she said.

"Really? Oh wow, great! Okay, is Italian okay for you?" he said, his voice more eager.

Aurelia rolled her eyes. Fairly cliché and she couldn't order spaghetti because it was a nightmare to eat.

"Italians great. I'll see you tomorrow, at nine?"

"Nines perfect, okay erm yes. I'll see you. Goodbye, bye"

Aurelia hung up, with a little smile. Jim wasn't the most exciting person ever, but he was fairly attractive, she got a free dinner and a couple hours of hopefully entertainment for her otherwise boring evening.

Aurelia wrote a note for her landlady, because she was coming over tomorrow for check-ups.

'Nora,

Tomorrow I will be at the Italian place round the corner about nine, if you're gone before then I'll see you next week.

Aurelia'

She stood, threw her rubbish in the bin and went to bed, falling fast asleep.

The next night, Aurelia sat down opposite Jim in the restaurant. It was lovely, with soft music in the background.

"You look lovely, by the way" Jim said over the drinks menu.

"Thank you" she murmured, considering the red wine. She was wearing a dark green dress with her curled hair pinned back slightly.

Unnoticed by Aurelia, four figures rushed into the restaurant.

"So… you come here often?" Jim asked Aurelia, his face completely serious. She burst out laughing. It was such a cliché sentence, and she touched his hand so he wouldn't be offended, peals of laughter coming out.

Killian stood, in the middle of a small Italian restaurant, in a strange city, surrounded by people he wasn't sure were his enemies or friends, looking at the love of his life and she held hands with a man, laughing.

"There she is! Let's go!" Mary Margaret exclaimed, but hook pulled he back.

"We can't" he said

"Why on earth not?!" Ruby said "We've travelled this far"

"She's right, why not?" David asked.

"Look" Killian said, his teeth gritted. "She's happy. She left, because she wasn't, and I was selfish to think she'd be unhappy without me. We can't ruin her peace" he said.

"I don't know" Mary Margaret said "One of the reasons she left was because you didn't remember her, you do now" she said.

"And I miss her" Ruby added.

"You miss her? The last time I saw her she was dead, then suddenly it turns out I was horrible to her without remembering her, breaking her heart! What about me?" Killian said "Look, I appreciate you've helped me, but in my honest opinion I think we need to leave"

"It's too late" David said.

They all turned.

Aurelia stood, wide-eyed, open mouthed, staring at the four people she'd never thought she'd see again.

"What's going on?" she said.

"Oh my god" Ruby said, smiling. The red-haired stood, shocked, her date staring from behind.

"Are you okay?" David asked, and Mary Margaret added "We found you"

Aurelia looked at the only person she needed to hear from, who hadn't spoken.

"Aurelia" he said.

"You remember me?" she said. He nodded. Aurelia wasn't aware of Jim watching her from behind, or half the restaurant going silent. She pushed through the tables, flying towards him, and hugged him. He held her tighter than anything she'd ever felt before, and they stood, embracing. Aurelia felt tears down her cheek as she smelt him, touched him.

"Um, Aurelia? What's going on?" Jim asked "Are you okay?"

"Who's this?" Killian said threatingly.

"He's a friend" Aurelia said, wiping the tears away.

"A friend? I thought…" Jim trailed off, looking at the floor

"God, no, oh I'm sorry Jim. Sorry, this is so surreal. Jim, you're a wonderful man, but I don't see you like that, I'm sorry. Now I have to escort these old friends back to my flat. I'll see you at work?" she said.

"But we haven't even started eating yet!" he said, gesturing the table. Killian gave him a look, and Jim looked down sheepishly, walking out.

Aurelia turned back. The short car ride was silent, and as they all piled into her flat, she felt self-conscious as they looked round the flat.

"It's lovely and cosy. The bathroom colours are nice" Ruby said.

"How have you seen my bathroom?" Aurelia said "We just got here"

"We were here earlier" David said "To sum it up, Gold wrote us a spell to find you, and it sent us here. We saw your note, and... Found you"

"Gold? That must've been a heavy price" She said. "Why did you decide now, after six months?"

"We started looking for you since you left, most attempts were unsuccessful" Mary Margaret said.

"I'm sorry" Aurelia said "I can't even begin to explain what was going through my head I was selfish, confused, I went a bit crazy. I'm sorry for leaving, it was cowardly of me"

"I don't think so" Ruby said "To start again, fresh, sounds brave. We're all just glad you're safe. Are you happy?"

"Um, I guess" Aurelia said "Good- very good job, this flat, a couple of friends. It's not so bad"

"So… Does that mean you're not coming home?" Mary Margaret said.

Aurelia looked at Killian. He still hadn't spoken.

"You're wearing jeans" she said. He nodded. "Looking normal suits you" she said.

"Thank you" she said stiffly.

"Aurelia, I hate to rush you, but you have to decide now" Ruby interrupted. "The deal only lasts one more hour. If you're coming with us, you have to stay with us, and hold on. Then we go home"

"Oh" Aurelia said, pausing. She looked round at the small world she had created. Six months had flown by, and she'd created some nice memories. Meeting her neighbours, then helping her move in. her first house warming party.

She looked at Killian.

"I'll pack my things" she said. The next hour was spent with Aurelia packing a few things and catching up with everyone. She wrote several notes, to her landlady, her work, and her friends. Suddenly, the clock chimed twelve, and a glow formed around the circle. Aurelia felt hook hold on her hand tightly, and then it was like she had turned into dust, floating above space, through time, until they slammed down into the centre of Storybrooke.

"Home sweet home" Mary Margaret. "Go back to your old flat with Killian; we'll give you some privacy. See you in the morning" and Aurelia nodded, speechless.

She hugged her, then David, and Ruby, giving her a tight squeeze and a kiss on the cheek.

Back at the flat, Aurelia sat down with Killian.

"This is so odd" she said. "The last time I saw you, it was…"

"I know. I was horrible. I'm sorry. I used to be sarcastic and mean to avoid getting hurt, but I got my memories back" he sighed "Aurelia, I've missed you so much. When you died… a piece of me went with you. I didn't know what to do. I was wandering around life with no purpose or meaning, it was pointless"

"I know I felt like that too" she said.

"I can't believe I found you" he said, smiling.

"I'm so glad- Killian- I love you. I always have, and I always will"

"I love you too" he said, leaning in. They kissed, starting off sweet and slow, but suddenly, the kiss grew... dangerous, almost, desperate. The clung to each other passionately, Aurelia pulling off his plain white t-shirt ass he ripped her green dress. He picked her up, her legs swung round his warm torso as they went into the bedroom, shutting the door behind them.

In the morning, Aurelia woke up to soft, fluffy pillows and a warm quilt. Her legs were entwined with Killians, her hand on his strong chest, his round here bare back. She smiled, breathing slowly as the sun rose, lighting up the room. She drifted back into the perfect, happy oblivion.

When she next woke up, the bed was empty. She shot up, her hair messy.

She heard music in the kitchen, and grabbed Killians white shirt, pulling it over her naked body, and it rested on her thighs. She walked to the kitchen, to see one of the most beautiful sights. Killian was standing in the kitchen in his pants, dancing along to music as he fried bacon and eggs. Aurelia giggled as she watched his bum wiggle and he turned, grinning.

"Morning, beautiful" he winked, and she ran to him, giving him a small kiss

"Good morning" she said. "What's all of this?"

"As an apology for my earlier behaviour, you shall receive breakfast in bed" he said. "Now hop it, girl, before I make you"

"Yes sir!" she saluted, laughing, running back into the warm bed, leaning back.

Her lover joined, and they ate, chatting about her old job and the business.

Aurelia brushed her teeth, looking in the mirror. She was glowing. Her pale skin looked clear and smooth, her hair shiny. She stripped, turning the shower on and stepping in. She turned it so it was almost scathing, burning hot, and washed her hair and body. Before stepping out, she felt a presence behind her.

"Don't leave so soon" Killian said.

"Hello" she smiled.

"I think- for financial reasons, of course- we should share a shower more often" Killian grinned, flashing his teeth.

"I am totally inclined to agree with you there, my love" Aurelia murmured, tiptoeing up to the dark handsome man, kissing him.

"No, wear this tonight" killian threw a dress at her.

"Ooh, possessive" she winked "Where are we going?"

"To dinner" he said, pulling his tie on.

Aurelia pulled the dress on. It was very tight, and black, with lace arms- the colour creating a stark contrast to her skin and hair. She curled her hair properly, fastening it with a green emerald clasp that matched her eyes. After doing her makeup, Killian hugged her from behind and they looked at themselves in the mirror.

"I'm so happy" she sighed, leaning against him.

"Me too" he said, kissing her neck. "C'mon, we'll be late"

"Late?" Aurelia asked, but he was already pushing her at the door.

"We could just go grannies, it'd be nice to see her" Aurelia said "Where are we going"

"Be patient, quiet, and look at the map" killian said. Aurelia was so distracted by the giant map he'd thrown at her she didn't recognise the location. Stepping out of the car, Killian covered her eyes, leading her up some stairs.

When he removed his hands, a massive cheer went up as the lights flipped on. The massive hall from the ball before was lit up, looking as beautiful as before. The decorations hung down- tiny little mermaids and fish. The colour scheme was of course, blue and green. The hall was filled with the people of Storybrooke.

"Oh my!" Aurelia exclaimed. A massive banner said 'WELCOME HOME AURELIA'

The first to hug her was henry, and she picked him up, swinging him around.

"You, are the most clever person I know, little man" she whispered to him "You're always right. I owe you a chocolate sundae- don't let me forget it"

"I'm glad you're back Aurelia" he said.

Emma gave her a long hug next, and ass the women chatted more people came up.

"We'll talk later- I'll let you enjoy your party" Emma winked, following Henry to the food table.

"You still want your job? Best waitress I ever had" granny announced.

"Hey!" ruby said, giving Aurelia a joking hit on the arm.

"Oh, of course" Aurelia said "Sorry for the short notice"

"I'll see you at 7:30am then" Granny said, then looked at Killian next to Aurelia "Actually, I'll make it 11. I was young once" she winked. Ruby looked horrified and dragged Granny off and Aurelia and Killian burst into laughter.

Gold was next, and after an almost pleasant but odd conversation, Aurelia carried on meeting and greeting, circulating around the guests. The whole night she was swept off her feet, the centre of attention. Even when she was trying to eat sausage rolls and prawns and was being talked to. After a few glasses of champagne she grew more tired as the night wore on, and she couldn't find Killian. Climbing the stairs, she retreated to the balcony she escaped to before.

"Overwhelmed?" a voice asked her from behind.

She turned, kissing Killian. "Yes, completely"

They stood, looking at the night sky for a while.

"Actually, I need to ask you something" she said. "There was a ball here before, and I got very drunk and came up here. I swear that I saw you, but I suppose that couldn't have been possible, you weren't even in Storybrooke. Any ideas?"

"Nope" he shook his head "Probably just you being crazy, my little alcoholic" he winked and she pushed him.

"I guess you're right" she said "hmm"

"Come one" Killian said "We're going to dance until you can't stand up"

"What do we do then?" she said, in mock horror.

"I'll carry you, darling. Let's go"

And taking his hand, she followed him back.


	16. Ageing

Hey guys! WHO ELSE IS SO SO SO EXCITED FOR OUAT SEASON 3?! I can't actually watch any of it yet but I'm so excited, we get to see the little mermaid character which is exciting (though she isn't no Aurelia) :D Of course I will be continuing the story, and as always, the more reviews I get the more inspired I become- if you're reading this, please take just one minute to write anything- it really means the world to me! Thank you to everyone that's been following and appreciate this fanfiction, if you have any ideas of how you want the story to go or anything like that, don't hesitate to message me, it would be lovely! Obviously the story won't be following the episodes, though I might now try and connect them a bit more. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy the following chapters. Have a beautiful day.

It was a very cold winter in Storybrooke that year. The frost had settled dangerously on the ground, sparkling like diamonds in a pure, brilliant white.

Aurelia served many hot beverages in Grannies, everyone coming in with clothes piled on, wiping the slush of the snow and taking seats inside, warming their hands. Everyone was merry and happy, and Aurelia felt that life was perfect. Little did she know, happiness never lasted long in Storybrooke.

After a long shift, she walked carefully home, her arms outstretched as she waddled like a penguin into her and Rubys flat. Ruby was out for the night and she had the place to herself. When she came in, it smelt beautiful, and she removed her woollen hat and big boots, walking to the kitchen.

"Merry Christmas, love" Killian grinned. Aurelia almost squealed when she saw the table.

"It isn't for two weeks yet!" she said in surprise, looking at the chicken, and potatoes and other rich foods that lay waiting to be eaten.

He'd even lit candles. Aurelia looked at him as he looked at the floor, and was overwhelmed with emotion. She walked to him, cupping his face gently as she tilted it to kiss him.

"If you don't stop that the dinner will go to waste" he said, smirking.

"Fine" she whinged. "But I know what's for desert"

They sat at the table, and eat the dinner, talking about Christmas and their friends and life. Then they sat on the sofa, Killian sitting watching TV as Aurelia put her head on his lap and started reading a book, her toes snuggled in big fluffy socks on the armrest. They snuggled and drank hot chocolate, cuddled and kissed, and talked about how quickly the year had gone.

"Is that a grey hair?" Aurelia joked. "Santa Claws has a hook this year" she winked. Suddenly, Killian's face turned darker, and he stood, walking to the bedroom. Aurelia frowned after him, unsure of what to do. They'd had arguments before, but he never walked off without saying anything. She wondered what had upset him.

She followed him precariously, tiptoeing into the dark bedroom.

"Darling, what's wrong?" sshe asked, going to put a hand on his shoulder.

"We can't put off talking about it forever, I guess" he sighed "We both saw this coming"

"Saw what?" she asked, her voice going a tad higher "Kill, you're scaring me, tell me."

"Aurelia, you're not aging. I am" he said.

"What? I don't understand"

"You're intelligent Aurelia, put two and two together. I'm growing older, and you'll stay the same. It makes no difference now, but in five, ten years time…" He trailed off

Aurelia stayed silent. She honestly hadn't thought about it like that.

"Fuck" she said. "Don't worry- it doesn't matter now, like you said-"

"We can't ignore it, Aurelia!" he said, standing up angrily. She couldn't help but notice he even looked beautiful when angry, his strong eyebrows low and furious.

"Then we find a spell, or do something. We'll always find a way" She said, optimistically.

"I'm not so sure this time" he said quietly. "Look, I'm sorry, I need to be checking on the ship anyway. I'll see you later"

"Don't you dare say something like that and then walk out on me. Killian! Come back!"

But he had already gone. She paused for a minute, then pulling her shoes on, ran after him. It was a blizzard out there, snowing coming down furiously.

Too late. She groaned, turned back inside, and sat, depressed and scared thinking about the future.


	17. Shock

Christmas came and went quickly, and soon spring began, and with it, the problem of Killian's age. After a date in one of the small Storybrooke restaurants, they walked home, arm in arm.

"Killian" Aurelia said "I need to talk to you, and you're not going to like it"

"Oh" he groaned "That's never good"

"I know. Look, before Christmas… what you said, about our ages, you were right. We need to come up with a solution. I'm going to Gold tomorrow, to see if he knows anything"

"We don't need his help, Aurelia" he said with spite.

"Can you, for once, just get over it? I don't know if this is some kind of masculinity thing going on, but there is good in him, and although he can be bad, he may help us. He's trying, Killian, he really is" she protested, even though his face was stubborn, looking at the night sky.

"We can find another way. But please, Aurelia, don't go to him. We owe him too much already. And despite how good he supposedly is now, we both know we don't want to get on his wrong side. I'm not saying you forgive too easily, I'm just saying we need to be careful about this"

"Alright, alright" she sighed, taking his hand "I promise I will look for other options first. But, you were the one that pointed this out in the first place" she said, her eyebrows raise.

"I know" he said "But for tonight, can we just forget about it. We've had a lovely night, and I don't want to think about it right now"

"Okay. I'm sorry. I love you she said, stopping. He turned, and gave her a small smile, and kissed her softly.

"let's go home" he said, and know both happier, they started walking again, unaware that they were being watched.

"So she came back with me after that, and you know the rest" henry said, taking a bunch of chips and eating them.

"Wow, finding out you have a kid must be hard" Aurelia said, looking to Emma.

Emma shrugged "Well, it's not something you do everyday" she laughed. "Hey, I have to go out for a minute. Is it alright if I leave Henry with you?"

"Of course. Is that alright kid?" Aurelia said, and henry nodded, his mouth full.

The little boy and the woman sat on the bench.

"So wait… one more thing I'm out of the loop on… your adoptive mother- she's the evil queen?" Aurelia said.

"Yup" Henry nodded "Except she's not really evil in Storybrooke. She tried, just like Mr Gold does"

"Right, okay" Aurelia said "So where is she right now?"

"I don't know" Henry said "her and my mum- I mean, Emma, got into a fight, and she stormed out. We haven't seen her since"

"Are you worried?" Aurelia asked.

"yeah, of course. I mean, there's less arguments and trouble, but she was a good mum to me. And she truly does love me"

"yeah. Well, I must say, I'm not too fond on meeting her again. The last she saw me I was supposed to be her servant but I ran away. I figure she's not too happy with me at the moment. Apparently she made a deal with Gold to get me killed"

"If I like you, then she won't hurt you" henry grinned, which then faltered "I mean… not seriously, I hope. I never know with her. But who knows if she's coming back? Then there's my dad, who's disappeared as well" he frowned.

"Trust me, Henry, things have a way of turning round for the better. I mean I of all people have had the worst lucky, but look at me now, I couln't be happier" she sighed "All I hope is that it stays that way"

"Hows it going with Hook?" henry said

"Okay, I guess. Well, we do have a few problems, but I guess every couple does. Ours is more of a time issue" she said

"You can tell me" he said "I'm an excellent secret keeper"

"Fine" she laughed "Well, since I was turned into a mermaid, I'm now immortal. I won't age. But Killian… he will. Now there's only two options- to remove my immortality, or to stop him ageing"

"Oh, I see" henry said "You do realise Killian isn't the only exception. All your friends, and family- one day even I'll be older than you!"

"Oh… That thought hadn't crossed my mind" she grimly stated.

"You're a clever woman, Aurelia. You'll figure something out. Whenever I had a problem- I used my book"

"The storybook, with all the fairytales?" Aurelia asked "Wait- am I in it?"

"yeah, want to see?" he said, pulling the book out of his school bag.

"yes, I am curious!" Aurelia said. He flipped it to a page, and she began reading. After a few minutes, she closed the book.

"Well, that's definitely a different story to the one I'm in now" she said "I never began as a mermaid. Hm. Well, stories have a way of twisting, turning, and changing things"

She flipped through the book. Seeing a picture, she focused on it.

"Ah, neverland. I miss it" she said "My friend Peter- he's still there- I think. I don't know. He's got his own life now, I don't think I want to go and ruin it"

"your friend is Peter Pan?" Henry asked.

"No, wait is he in there too?" Aurelia asked. Yet again she found herself reading another fairytale.

"That stories changed too" she laughed "My Peter- well, my friend, that it- always wanted to grow up, and be a man"

"Well, he's in the wrong place" Henry said "People don't grow up in Neverland. Children go there to stay young forever"

His words stuck in her head, cogs turning and whirring. Grow up. Stay young. Forever.

"Oh my" she said "that's it! Henry, you've done it! She practically yelled, surprising the young boy.

"What? What did I do?" he said.

"Neverland- people don't grow up. If Killian and I go there together, he won't age!" she said.

"You're right!" he gasped "See, I told you, all the answers are in this book!"

"I have to tell Killian!" she said "oh, I'd never think it was that easy- thank you, Henry!"

"No problem" he gave a proud smile, as Emma walked up. Aurelia jumped off the bench, hugged Emma tight and said

"Henry is the most special, wonderful, intelligent child ever. You did good" and ran off.

"I'll explain on the way to school" Henry said, taking Emma's hand as she stared, befuddled after the red-haired woman.

Aurelia barged into the flat, breathless. The smile on her face dropped when she saw inside.

The tables and chairs had been turned over, books littered on the floor. Cups were laid, smashed upon the kitchen tiles. Her blood froze.

"Killian?" she called, her voice sounding small and worried.

She checked all of the rooms. He was nowhere to be seen.

Aurelia ran down to Grannies.

"Ah, you're early darling, but Ruby's shift is nearly over so-"

"help me" she said, her face deathly pale. Grannies sat her down, Ruby running over.

"What's the matter?" Aurelia, what happened?" Ruby asked, worried, taking her friends hand.

"it's Killian. He's gone. Someone's hurt him- taken him" she said, shaking with shock.

"Oh God, how do you know?"

"The flat- there was a fight. He's gone, Ruby. I don't know what to do" she broke down into tears, and Ruby held her while Grannie made tea, pouring a lot of sugar into Aurelia cup.

Emma, Mary Margaret and David were all filled in. They studied the flat while Ruby looked after the distraught Aurelia.

"Why does everything bad happen to me, Ruby? Am I cursed? I used to be innocent, and happy. Then everything was ripped away from me and ever since I can't find happiness that will last"

"Listen to me. Aurelia you are not cursed. Bad things happen. I killed the love of my life. Emma was abandoned. Henry grew up with the evil queen. Belle was forced to serve Rumplestiltskin. Rumplestiltskin lost the love of his life and his son. His son was abandoned. Emma lost two loves- Graham and Henrys father. Henry almost died. David and Mary Margaret have been continually separated. This curse has torn everything apart, ruined relationships and families but at the end of the day, we survive. We hold onto the pieces, and we find happiness. Do you know why? Because we are honest, and true, and good. It's why, at the end of the day, good will always win. We'll find Killian, Aurelia, that I promise you"

"You seem… Better" Ruby acknowledged. After a long shower, tidying up and a plan, Aurelia certainly better.

"I am. Thanks for the pep talk… It really helped. Thank you"

"Any time" Ruby said. "So, what's the plan?"

"Well first, I need to ask enemy number one, Gold. I'm going to his shop now" Aurelia said.

"I'll go with you- no arguments. I don't care if he's good now, you're not going alone" Ruby said stubbornly.

"Okay. Let's go" Aurelia said. When they got there, she swung opened the door hard.

"Well, what a surprise" Gold said, sitting at the desk.

"No chit-chat, Rumple" Aurelia said, her face hard. "Where is he?"

"Where is… who?" The man asked, his face showing no reaction. Belle came out, putting a hand on her lovers shoulder.

"Something wrong?" she asked, sweetly.

"You bet it is" Ruby said angrily

"I'm sorry Belle, I know you want to believe Rumplestiltskin is good, but he's the only person who could've done this" Aurelia said, her lips pressed tightly together.

"Done what?" Belle said.

"Yes, what exactly is it you're accusing me of?" Rumplestiltskin said, standing, a look on annoyance on his face.

"Killian's missing. There was some sort of fight at the flat. Who else would it be, okay? I don't know what to do?" Aurelia was close to breaking down again, so she steeled herself, her voice growing angry "Just tell me what you've done with him"

Rumplestiltskin walked right up to Aurelia, until they were face to face, Belle and Ruby watching like hawks.

"Now listen closely dearie. We've had our troubles, but right now, you're in my good books. Don't go changing that. I don't know where he is, and as much as I don't like him, I'll be prepared to help you. I'm doing this for two reasons- one, I have to make things up to you, so we can settle this between us and to prove to everyone that I'm not the baddie here anymore, okay?"

"Deal" Aurelia said.

"Bring me something of his and I'll work on it"

Aurelia reached in her pocket. He sometimes wore a silver chain around his neck, but Aurelia had found it on the floor. She placed it in Gold's hand, gave him a polite nod and walked out.

"Right, let's go back to the flat and wait" Ruby suggested.

"I'll be there in ten minutes" Aurelia murmured "I have to do something first"

"If you're sure?" Ruby said, and then carried on walking. Aurelia wandered over to the docks, seeing his ship. It was empty, but she thought she might as well have a look, see if there were any clues. She walked up the deck, and then down into one of the little cabins.

Nothing. It was empty. She sank, defenceless, on one of the bunk beds.

Then she sniffed. There was a sweet smell, like a woman's perfume. Frowning, she stood, and noticed she felt a little woozy. Looking around her, she was surrounded by a weird, silver fog. The last thing she remembered was the smell of the perfume getting stronger, and a woman laugh as she dropped unconscious to the ground.


End file.
